design • engineering • construction sound number 2

Inside: Brian Van Bower on Working within Genres

D e s i g n • E n g i n e e r i n g • C o n s t r u c t i o n

Volume 10Number 2

February 2008$7.00

SoundSensationsUsing water itself tomake beautiful music

SoundSensationsUsing water itself tomake beautiful music

Plus: A look at what makes

landscape-lighting systems tick

Plus:A look at what makes

landscape-lighting systems tick

Long TimeComing

Catching up on the first five years of an enormous project

Long TimeComing

Catching up on the first five years of an enormous project

Circle 49 on Postage Free Card

4 WATERsHAPES �FEBRUARY 2008

February

Fluid MelodiesBy Steve Mann

Making music with‘hands-on’ fountains

36

The Science of LightingBy Mike GambinoA look inside the basictechnology of illumination

contents

features

46

56Shell GamesBy James AtlasTracing the early stages ofan enormously artful project

5

In This Issue

Advertiser Index

Of Interest Index

Of Interest

6

8

72

72

74

10

18

26

78

WATERSHAPES (ISSN 1522-6581) is published monthly by McCloskey Communications, Inc. 6119 Lockhurst Dr.,Woodland Hills, CA 91367. A controlled circulation publication, WaterShapes is distributed without charge to qualifiedsubscribers. Non-qualified subscription rates in the U.S., $36 per year; Canada and Mexico $60 per year; all other coun-tries $72 per year, payable in U.S. funds. Single copies $10 per issue in the U.S. and Canada. All other countries $15per issue. Subscription requests must include name, job title, business location, address information and a signatureand date. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to WaterShapes, P.O. Box 1216, Lowell, MA 01853-9930.Periodicals postage rates paid at Woodland Hills, CA 91365 and additional mailing offices.

WATERsHAPES � FEBRUARY 2008

Volume 10 • Number 2 • February 2008

StructuresBy Eric Herman

Mining the potentialof visualization

Aqua CultureBy Brian Van Bower

‘Signature looks’ andmoving beyond genres

On the LevelBy Bruce Zaretsky

So is all that lawnreally what you want?

Detail #85By David TishermanMaking decks andcoping work together

Book NotesBy Mike Farley

Exploring the edgesof artistic illusion

26

columns

departments

18

10

On the cover:Photo by Steve Mann, Funtains, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

EditorEric Herman — 949.494-4533

Associate EditorMelissa Anderson Burress — 818.715-9776

Contributing EditorsBrian Van Bower David TishermanBruce Zaretsky Mike Farley

Art DirectorRick Leddy

Production ManagerRobin Wilzbach — 818.783-3821

Circulation ManagerSimone Sanoian — 818.715-9776

National Sales ManagerCamma Barsily — 310.979-0335

PublisherJames McCloskey — 818.715-9776

Publishing OfficeMcCloskey Communications, Inc.P.O. Box 306Woodland Hills, CA 91365Tel: 818.715-9776 • Fax: 818.715-9059e-mail: [email protected]: www.watershapes.com

© Entire contents copyright 2008. No portion of this publi-cation may be reproduced in any form without written per-mission of the publisher. Views expressed by the bylinedcontributors should not be construed as reflecting the opin-ion of this publication. Publication of product/service infor-mation should not be deemed as a recommendation by thepublisher.

Printed in the U.S.A.

In my role as editor of WaterShapes, I’m often approached with tales of utterlyamazing projects in the works – but still months or even years away from comple-tion. That can be frustrating at times, because the only way to satisfy my piquedinterest is to wait things out until the time finally arrives when we might get theprivilege of covering the results in these pages.

These experiences in learning to master my impatience have gone a long way to-ward proving to me that anticipation can actually be a wonderful thing. This issue,for instance, carries a prime example of the way this waiting game can pay off inthe form of James Altas’“Shell Games” (page 56), in which a Chicago-area builderbegins two-part coverage of a project of mind-bending complexity and scope.

More than five years in the making, the project had been in the works for quitea while before I heard about it from my friend Nick Powell of Craig Bragdy Design(Denbigh, Wales). He visited our booth at a trade show and went off about thisgreat installation with an indoor pool where a giant clamshell had been made tohang out over the water at one end. He told me that his firm, which makes fan-tastically colorful, textured ceramic tile, had been engaged to create an iridescentmother-of-pearl tile mosaic to finish the underside of the shell.

In the months following this conversation,reports of this project seemed to mul-tiply as I began to hear from anyone and everyone who’d been involved with it onany level – and even from people who had simply heard about the crazy pool riggedout with the clamshell. As the project finally neared conclusion, Nick referred meto James Atlas, the watershaper who’d been asked to turn this flight of fancy into re-ality – and that’s where the story began showing its full extent and complexity.

As James explains in his article, the clamshell is only part of the deal: The pro-ject was being done at the request of a woman who brought a huge stock ofcreativity to the task and was obviously accustomed to allowing her imaginationto run wild. What’s more, she had the vision and the wherewithal to indulge themost outrageous inklings and impulses.

In that sense, this is a project that, from start to finish and probably beyond,has been about the power of visualization: From the most elaborate of designs tothe most modest, this ability to anticipate a result and use that anticipation to pur-sue just about any sort of imaginative concept is one to be greatly desired – amust for design professionals and also a helpful characteristic among clients.

That’s not to say that just because someone can think of an ambitious idea thatit necessarily can or should happen, but there can be no question that for a highlycreative idea to become real as a watershape,a watershaper’s clients must have someability to visualize outcomes and subsequently grant themselves and those work-ing on their behalf the freedom to follow those paths.

In this case, James describes a path that would test the limits of his technical ca-pabilities – making this a story of the power of visualization as well as one of thedogged persistence required to make concepts come to life.

By extension, this is why anticipation can be so exciting: It’s an agitated state ofmind where the powers of inspiration and execution meet – and it goes a long waytoward explaining why I have so much fun following along with all of you becauseI have no idea when or where the next wild idea might start on its path to fruition.

WATERsHAPES �FEBRUARY 20086

By Eric Herman

structures

Moving Toward Fruition


Steve Mann is an inventor, artist, musician,professor, scientist, engineer and the creatorof the hydraulophone, a combination water-feature/musical instrument that uses water togenerate sound. He currently teaches in theDepartment of Electrical & ComputerEngineering at the University of Toronto andhas written 139 research publications, twobooks and numerous articles. He also holds51 patents, has been the keynote speaker atnumerous scientific and industry symposiaand conferences and has been a speaker atDistinguished Lecture Series and colloquia atmore than 50 universities. Among his inven-tions in addition to the hydraulophone, he isconsidered by many to be the inventor of

WearComp (a wearable computer) andWearCam (an eye-tap camera and reality me-diator). He carried his inventions and ideasto the Massachusetts Institute of Technologyin 1991 and received his doctorate there in1997. Among his many endeavors, he ownsand operates Funtains, a company focused oncreating hydraulophones for a range of appli-cations and settings.

Mike Gambino owns and operatesGambino Landscape Lighting in Simi Valley,Calif. A graduate of Adelphi University with abachelor’s degree in business administration,he has been a California-licensed landscapecontractor since 1990. In 1995, he began spe-

February’s Writersin this issue


cializing in high-performance low-voltagelandscape lighting systems designed and builtto last. For more information, visit his website: www.gambinolighting.com.

James Atlas is co-principle of PlatinumPool Care Aquatech, a full-service pool de-sign, construction and service firm servingupscale residential clients in the greaterChicago area from a base in Wheeling, Ill.The son of widely known pool builder and in-dustry pioneer Ron Atlas, James has been in-volved in the pool-construction business sincechildhood. He attended the University ofColorado at Boulder, graduating with a bach-elors degree from the business school in 1991.

WATERsHAPES �FEBRUARY 2008 9

Interested in writing for WaterShapes on design, engineering or construction topics? Contact Eric Herman at (949) 494-4533!


He worked as an options trader at the ChicagoBoard of Exchange for three years before re-joining the pool industry in 1994. After that,he soon applied his entrepreneurial skills toform Fountain Technology, a firm focused oncommercial waterfeatures, and Pool Watch, acommercial pool maintenance/aquatic ser-vices company. He eventually rejoined his fa-ther’s firm and worked as an estimator forlarge commercial projects. Recognizing a voidin the area’s custom pool design/constructionmarket, he formed Platinum Aquatech in2003 to serve upscale residential clients andmerged it with another firm, Pool CareSpecialty, in January 2008.


any great artists are best known for working in identifiable genres,stylesor modes or with specific materials, themes or some other defining de-

tail. From Picasso’s cubist abstractions to Mozart’s cascading melodies or Rodin’sbronzes to Frank Gehry’s sweeping architectural forms, geniuses of all stripesare in one way or another known for qualities that are distinctly theirs.

The same holds true for many watershapers, especially those working at thetop of the field. While many of us (myself included) cross the lines that dividedistinctive modes, styles and genres, even the most free-spirited among us canbe identified by elements that, for want of a better term, might be called thetouchstones of our work.

This principle of identification isn’t absolute (from time to time we all playagainst type and do something out of the ordinary),but when I consider waysin which up-and-coming watershapers can elevate their work, I have the sensethat mastering a particular element of watershape expression is one way tostep up and gain a reputation for excellence.

boiling waterI raise this point largely to set up my response to a recent inquiry from an

aspiring watershaper who asked me what he needed to do to break into the

upper ranks of the business. (In one form or an-other, this is probably the question I’m askedmore often than any other.)

The answer is, of course, all-encompassingand would take a lifetime of conversations orcolumns to address adequately – and I alwaysbegin by making just that statement. I also usu-ally point out that my response to the questionhas changed through the years as my career hasdeveloped and my basic sense of what’s possiblein watershaping has exponentially expanded.

With that as prologue, I move along by break-ing the topic down into two specific points: First,you can’t achieve much in any field of creativeendeavor without having mastered the basics.If you want to be a chef, for example, you firsthave to know how to boil water and crack eggs.

In watershaping terms, that means you needa working familiarity with and appreciation of(if not outright expertise in) soils and geolo-gy, construction techniques, details of work-manship, hydraulics, design history, materialsselection, design principles, presentation tech-niques, customer relations, project manage-ment, water-quality management and about athousand other subcategories that line up un-der those headings.

Watershaping, in other words, encompassesa truly vast body of knowledge – so vast, in fact,that comfort with the fundamentals requires along-term commitment to education, the ac-quisition and constant updating of technicalknowledge and ongoing development of de-sign acumen.

As I see it, those who aspire to excellence inwatershaping in today’s marketplace can’t getby on charm or finesse. Many of today’s con-sumers are too sharp to be taken in by blusterthat isn’t backed by performance and too so-phisticated in their own tastes to be persuadedto accept less than they’re expecting in a design.

By Brian Van Bower

aqua culture

Even the most free-spirited watershapers can be identifiedby elements that, for want of a

better term, might be called the touchstones of our work.Finding Touchstones

M

Continued on page 12

Indeed, even production- or volume-oriented watershapers these days arehaving to step up and do better with thefundamentals. It might cost them moreto toe the line (which is why they avoid-ed stepping up in the first place), buttoday’s consumers are pretty good atpunishing poor performers and forc-ing them to elevate their games as a

matter of survival.For aspirants to excellence, however,

there is no latitude: If you want to playthe game on a high level, there’s no alter-native to mastering the fundamentals.

reaching higherFor most of us who strive for or who

have reached the upper echelon, staying

in the mid-range or having a productionorientation isn’t an option. We want todo something special in our work,whichleads me to the second point I offer in an-swering the basic question of how one canelevate his or her watershaping to an artform: You have to be able to execute de-sign elements that make projects special.

Often, that distinction is best achievedby choosing a specialty for which youmight become known. There are a vari-ety of ways you can make this happen,but it always starts with being deliberatein your thinking and carefully consider-ing your place in the watershaping world.Yes, it can happen by chance, but luck isnever going to be as reliable as is movingin a chosen direction with a plan and asense of purpose.

Using my own career path as an exam-ple,my gateway into the world of customwatershaping started with what were oncecommonly called “lagoon pools.” Workingin south Florida early in my career, I sawthat there was a demand for watershapesthat reflected the sunny lifestyle that de-fines the region. I also recognized that al-most nobody in the industry was delib-erately exploring that genre in designterms, so I stepped directly into the niche– and it worked.

It was so effective that for several years,Iwas known around the area as the “lagoonguy.”

In those times, I built lots of freeformpools with dark,highly reflective surfaces,surrounded them with lush landscaping,minimized attached architectural deck-work, set up rambling garden pathwaysand installed thatched huts, woodendecks,waterfalls and a host of other trop-ically inspired details. Even though someof those pools were built almost 30 yearsago, I’m still proud of many of them andtake satisfaction knowing that they’veprovided years of pleasure, relaxation and


aqua culture


The fact that someone may choose to move beyond a given genre

doesn’t undercut the valueof being identified with

one style or another.

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fun for my clients.In my case, I decided to move beyond

the limitations of that genre and havesince developed designs that cut a farwider swath in terms of styles,motifs anddesign sensibilities. Just the same, the la-goon pool will always represent the start-ing place from which my career as a cus-tom watershaper truly began.

styles and featuresThe fact that someone may choose to

move beyond a given genre doesn’t un-dercut the value of being identified withone style or another. Indeed, I’ve knownmany watershapers who are multi-facetedbut are nonetheless proud to be identifiedas specialists in a given design tradition.

One example is Mark Holden, a regu-

lar WaterShapes contributor and an in-structor for the Genesis 3 program. Markis a knowledgeable, talented profession-al who has designed and built projectsacross a wide range of styles, but he maybe best known for his work in the SpanishColonial style at vintage homes in south-ern California. He has mastered the ele-ments of this look down to the finest de-tails and his work in such projects isgenuinely remarkable.

Then there’s Randy Beard, anotherWaterShapes regular and Genesis 3 par-ticipant. I’m not certain he would claimthis identification, but he has executedsome of the finest contemporary-stylepools I’ve ever seen, including a great pro-ject designed by former WaterShapescolumnist Stephanie Rose in which amodernist sculpture rises above a largeperimeter-overflow pool in the courtyardof a stylish home. He’s another water-shaper with broad capabilities, but hecould quite reasonably lay claim to mas-tery of this particular idiom.

I could name scores of other water-shapers who have clearly mastered par-ticular styles,and in most cases it’s safe tosay that their familiarity with given gen-res frees them up to add marks of dis-tinction to what they do,whether the workis nominally Southwestern, Moorish,Greco-Roman, Contemporary, SpanishColonial, or Ultra-Modern. My point is,getting a well-deserved reputation for ex-cellence in a single style that’s popularamong upscale clients is a wonderful ap-proach to gaining more general acceptancefor your work.

Equally potent is doing what many wa-tershapers have done in recent years –that is, they’ve become identified with aparticular feature or design element. Oneof the best examples to consider alongthose lines is my Genesis 3 partner SkipPhillips, who may well be the world’smost recognized authority on water-in-transit systems.

Skip didn’t invent the vanishing edgeor the perimeter overflow, but he is ona very short list of watershapers whoembraced them early on and have ad-vanced these features to the point wherethey may be the most identifiable andpopular of all watershape-design ele-ments. Certainly, not every pool Skip


14 WATERsHAPES � FEBRUARY 2008

aqua culture

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Made in the USA

Glass, Marble

& Stone Mosaics

Made in the USA

Siena Marble & Mosaic(239) 435-7875

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Roberto DeAngelis,Architect/Designer from Rome, Italy


builds includes water in transit, butenough of them do that he’s become agenuine guru when it comes to makingwater flow over edges.

a universe of optionsI’m lucky in the work I do both in my

own business and through Genesis 3 thatI’ve gotten to know professionals allacross the country (and indeed aroundthe world) who do amazing things withtheir watershapes.

Consider Kevin Ruddy, a Genesis 3alumnus who has mastered the art ofbuilding indoor residential pools. Hiswork covers a broad range of architec-tural styles and features, but his mark ofdistinction is doing it all indoors. And ofcourse there’s David Tisherman, who bynow needs no introduction. His workcrosses all design styles and tempera-ments, but in watershaping terms he’sclearly associated with raising pools outof the ground, with executing difficulthillside installations, with beautiful ma-

terials and with using simple forms in fan-tastically expressive ways.

The range of possibilities for specializa-tion is almost limitless. You could, for ex-ample,become known for combining foun-tain features with swimming pools or forusing elaborate rockwork or for develop-ing dazzling dining/entertainment areas.You might also work with a specific type ofmaterial (much as Tisherman is renownedfor his masterful use of glass tile) or for anunusual look,such as the deployment of firefeatures in conjunction with watershapes.

That very last example leads me to animportant point: When you move in aparticular direction, you might do so inresponse to a trend – and certainly fire ef-fects and outdoor kitchens qualify alongthose lines. The key is finding a trend thatmakes sense and has legs that can carryyou into the future no matter whatchanges you might make or turns youmight take as your career unfolds.

As for today’s emerging trends, I knowthat many watershapers are now earnest-

ly exploring concepts related to environ-mentally sensitive design. This is a sig-nificant movement in more ways than one,not least of which is the fact that it repre-sents a specialty based not on product typesor details but instead on a value system.

We know that all things “green”are onpeople’s minds lately,and for lots of smartreasons these possibilities are capturingimaginations as never before. I think thistrend has definite staying power, and mysuspicion is that there will soon be a classof watershapers who will be well knownfor their environmentally friendly designs.

In fact,we’re already seeing this in a bigway in the world of landscape architec-ture and design, where “sustainability”isa topic that dominates the field. Trust me:I don’t think watershaping will lag too farbehind.

the big dealThe beauty of watershaping as an art

form is that it reaches into so many differ-ent potential specialties. It’s a field rich with


aqua culture

possibilities,and the only limit is the imag-ination of watershapers who are willing tostep up and become true innovators.

Within all watershaping fields – pondsand streams, pools and spas, fountainsand architectural features, tranquility andmeditation gardens, competition pools,interactive water systems,even bird bathsand zoological exhibits – there are alwayscategories within categories, sub-genreswithin genres, and each can providemarks of distinction to those who mas-ter them.

None of us needs to feel compelledto master every one of those possibili-ties; who would have that much time?

But whatever specialty or signature youchoose, the big point here is that there’spower in being deliberate in setting yourcourse: Once you set your direction andbegin gathering the education and in-formation you need to follow your cho-sen path, you never know how far you’llgo, how high you’ll climb or where elseyour steps might lead you.


17WATERsHAPES � FEBRUARY 2008

new tricks

As discussed in the accompany text, theworld of watershaping is characterized by abroad range of styles and features that makeprojects special – and define the work of wa-tershapers who master given areas of spe-cialization. One of the things that’s so amaz-ing to me is that there always seems to be anew wrinkle on the horizon.

As I was preparing this column, for instance,a client asked me to explore the possibility ofdesigning a system in which a sheet of waterfalling from a spa elevated several feet abovea pool could be used as a sort of liquid screenonto which movies could be projected. I’mnot kidding: This client is dead serious aboutwanting to watch movies on a waterfall.

It doesn’t happen very often, but this re-quest stumped me. I’ve heard of images be-ing projected onto precisely controlled banksof fine mist, but onto a sheer sheet of water?That one is miles beyond my established bagof tricks.

Aside from the fact that I’d love to hear fromany reader who knows how this might be done,I bring up this example here because it’s justone more indication of how rapidly the realmof watershaping is expanding into areas thatwould have been beyond anyone’s wildestdreams even a few years ago.

Who knows? Someday a few of you mightmake names for yourselves as pioneers in“aquavideo”!

– B.V.B

Brian Van Bower runs Aquatic Consultants,a design firm based in Miami, Fla., and is aco- founder of the Genesis 3 Design Group;dedicated to top-of-the-line performance inaquatic design and construction, this orga-nization conducts schools for like-minded pooldesigners and builders. He can be reachedat [email protected].

WS


ast month, I discussed the benefits of sustainability and its place in land-scape and watershape design. As I hope I conveyed, I think it is incum-

bent upon us as professionals to be responsible for our actions and constant-ly aware of the effects our work has on the environment,now and in the future.

With the current severe drought desiccating the southeast, ongoing waterproblems in the west and increasing pressure on the water-supply infrastruc-ture nationwide, it’s more important than ever that we practice our profes-sions wisely. This is why I am always trying to find ways to convince my clientsthat the all-American patch of lawn is one of the worst offenders when it comesto sustainable design.

Yes, much has been written in defense of lawns: They help remove pollu-tants from the atmosphere, provide local cooling effects, help reduce waterrunoff and serve as playgrounds for children, sporting events and entertain-ing. But in my book those advantages are outweighed in many cases by thefact that lawns also gobble up huge amounts of resources (including waterand fuel) and contribute to pollution resulting from the use of gas-poweredmowers and various fertilizers.

So how would I replace this icon of American suburbia? The answer, as al-ways, involves thinking outside the proverbial box and engaging in a bit of re-sponsible design.

alternative thinkingI’ve done what I can to educate and enlighten my clients about the lawn

issue for years. Usually, it comes up when we discuss irrigation systems and

what it takes to maintain the large expansesof close-cropped greenery so many of themwant to keep as green as the fairways at the lo-cal country club.

Now that the water crisis has become betterknown and has reached the point where mostof us are aware of how dire the situation is,clients have become more receptive to our reser-vations and are reconsidering their lawns. Often,they’re willing to scale them back, but in somecases, they’re open to eliminating them com-pletely – even in cases in which water shortagesaren’t a direct issue for them.

As a case in point, let’s look at a project thatbegan as a perfectly normal call from a poten-tial client that turned into the talk of the town.

That call came from someone who’d pur-chased a five-year-old, hilltop home in an ex-clusive private community. The neighborhoodincludes about 20 homes on varying-sized lotsand backs up on a large wooded area protectedby conservation easements and Department ofEnvironmental Conservation regulations. Anywork to be done on site had to be presented tothe local town board for a variance; withoutsuch a variance, nothing at all could be done.

As is so often the case these days, the archi-tecture of the house is a conglomeration of ideasinspired by various styles. From the street, forexample, it has many features of a Cape Cod,with dormer windows and a porch as dominantfeatures. But the columns holding up the porchhave details reminiscent of a Colonial,while theback of the house, to quote one of the clients,looked like a “two-story double-wide trailer.”

When I design, I always start by taking threemajor factors into account: architectural style,the clients’wishes and what falls out of my head.Of the three, the architecture is almost the most

By Bruce Zaretsky

on the level

With the increasing pressure onthe water-supply infrastructure

nationwide, I am always trying toconvince my clients that the all-American patch of lawn is oneof the worst offenders when itcomes to sustainable design.

Beyond the Lawn

L

significant point of departure for my de-sign thinking: I use it as my guide unlessthe clients’ desires dictate otherwise.

In this case, there was no dominantarchitectural feature or theme to latchonto or match, so I felt a good bit of free-dom to pursue the clients’ wishes andsee whatever might fall out of my headin the process.

finding a styleThe home in question had been the

original model for the entire development,so the landscape had been something ofa we-need-to-install-some-landscaping-for-the-model-to-make-it-look-expen-sive-but-we-don’t-want-to-spend-a-lot-of-money-doing-it situation. In myexperience,developers don’t invest much

in the landscapes of these homes and in-stead drop in some plants and walkwayson the cheap – as though landscaping wereno more than a necessary evil.

The results of that effort in this case wasan uninspired foundation planting, awalkway made of inexpensive concretepavers and a smallish Trex deck off theback of the house. To their credit, how-ever, the developers also planted a few redmaples out front and a couple of largeevergreens in the rear, mainly to provideprivacy from neighboring properties.

Right off the back of the house, thegrade dropped about eight feet to a low-er level patio and from there reachedacross the abovementioned conservationeasement. This wooded area continueddownslope to a 100-foot-deep ravine andfeatured some fairly impressive and well-established maples and oaks along witha variety of native plants.

The installed landscape near the house,however,had little going for it – the cook-ie-cutter design typical of subdivisionseverywhere. Compounding the problemwas the fact that the original purchasersof these homes hadn’t upgraded the pro-vided landscapes, nor had any of themdone much to take advantage of the sites’wooded,amply contoured features. Thesewere upscale homes,but nobody seemedinclined to treat them that way.

Our clients, however, were newly ar-rived in New York from their home inColorado,and we soon learned that they’dboth grown up in the Canadian Rockies.They spoke so wistfully of mountainousterrains and the visual drama of lakes,wa-terfalls and alpine plants that it didn’t takemuch for us to figure out what wouldmake them happy.

She was particularly communicative onwhat she missed about living in Colorado,noting in the pre-meeting questionnairewe’d sent them that she loved the largefields of daisies and other alpine wild-flowers she’d grown up with.

With cues that clear, it didn’t take muchto get the creative fires burning

.into the trees

While I was on site with them, howev-er,I held back just a bit: I usually try to giveclients some idea of what I’m thinking –perhaps mentioning my thoughts about



on the level

using a particular material or addressing a spe-cific grade change – but I always like to holda few things in reserve so we can surprise themin presenting our ideas.

In this case, one of the surprises was ourplan to convert the existing front lawn into amountain meadow planted with an endlesswash of daisies. As I saw it, this was an accesspoint to my usual discussion about sustain-able design – a perfect opportunity, in fact,because the repurposing of the lawn areawould carry both of them back to their hap-py childhoods. Even during our initial meet-ing, this lawn-free front yard was a fixed partof the design forming in my mind.

The clients’ responses to the questionnairealso indicated that they wanted some sort of wa-tershape to be included in the overall design.With the slope out back,it seemed a no-brain-er to work up a dramatic waterfall,but the prob-lem was that it would need to fall away from thehouse and down the slope,so they wouldn’t beable to see it easily from inside the house.

This problem was solved when we walkedout onto the existing deck and the husband



on the level

The home had been the model for the entire development, and only minimal attentionhad been paid to its landscaping. There were a few nice trees out front, but beyondthat there was nothing more than an unimaginative foundation planting and a broadexpanse of lawn.


made a derogatory comment about it.The deck was an uninspired 20-by-14-foot

rectangle with a staircase leading down to alower-level patio in a straight shot – 15 riserswith no landings or turns. It was long enoughto make it seem like a never-ending staircaseand did absolutely nothing to invite anyoneto use it.

Standing on that deck, I had an over-whelming desire to reach out and touch thetrees,but they were a good 20 feet away. If youapproached the steps, you looked down ontoa small swath of grass and then down the slopeand into the ravine. My immediate thoughtwas to extend the deck out over the slope, es-sentially putting it into the trees to make thosestanding on the deck feel as though they werein a forest.

This deck extension would be a number ofsteps down from the original deck’s height,thus creating a multilevel space and setting upthe lower deck as an intermediary between thetop deck and the patio space below. Also, thislower deck would cantilever out over a pondwe would build as the terminus of the water-


23

The scene out back was just as uninspired – this time without even the break of a foun-dation planting up against a home that the homeowner described as having the look ofa ‘two-story, double-wide trailer.’ The deck was small and awkward, there was too muchlawn and the design did nothing to exploit the beauty of the trees just beyond the ravine.

get, their body language assured me thatthere was some flexibility so long as I cameup with ideas that made them happy.)

Second (and more important), thisproject involved clients who gave me free-dom to design with no micromanage-ment: They made it perfectly clear thatthey expected a top-quality design andtop-quality installation. All I had to dowas present them with a plan of actionand move along.

Next, we’ll take a close look at the projectin words and images.

falls we’d install. This platform would bethe perfect viewing spot for the water-shapes and would also, to address thetheme of sustainability,eliminate the lawn.

taking shapeThis program left us with one last con-

cern – that is, the view from the lower pa-tio back up to the house, where theprospect was dominated by the slope andthe underside of the original deck.

It wasn’t a pretty picture: The denseshade precluded growth of most plants,so it was essentially a dirt incline that wasslowly washing down into a small planterbox that had been built between the un-derside of the deck and the lower-levelpatio. I asked the clients what their visionwas for this area, and their response wasquite direct: “You’re the designer. You fig-ure it out!”– and I already had.

What made this project wonderful weretwo things: First, the site incorporatedsome challenges,none too overwhelmingto solve in terms of either design or bud-get. (While the clients had given me a bud-

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WS

Bruce Zaretsky is president of Zaretsky andAssociates, a landscape design/construc-tion/consultation company in Rochester, N.Y.Nationally recognized for creative and in-spiring residential landscapes, he also workswith healthcare facilities, nursing homes andlocal municipalities in conceiving and installinghealing and meditation gardens. You canreach him at [email protected].

on the level

or the past year and more, we’ve worked our way step by step throughthe many processes involved in designing and installing quality resi-

dential watershapes, starting from the first contact with a prospective clientand working our way through, in the last two months, to the application ofwell-selected interior finishes.

A concern I’ve always had with this step-wise approach is that it makes toomany of these operations seem as though they happen in isolation and thatdecisions about design and materials and finishing touches are made as theprocess unfolds. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Take the subjects of this month’s column – coping and decking – as primeexamples: Although we’ve finally reached the practicalities of these topicsmore than a year after we started this sequence of columns, I must pointout that decisions about how they will be treated are properly made in theinitial design stage, not at the tag end of things.

With that fundamental point in mind, let’s dig in and take a look at someof my favorite options when these finishing touches are applied as long-plannedconstruction activities whose time has finally come.

combined forcesIn discussing coping and decking, I invariably combine them because, in

my view, they are truly inseparable: For a design to succeed, both must work


together because they play such important rolesin defining the ultimate “look”of a watershape.

Moreover,success is defined by the watershaper’sappreciation of what goes into working with bothwhen it comes to sorting out a huge variety of avail-able options. In simple practical terms, differentapproaches and treatments require very differenttypes of engineering and construction, and thechoices you make have a substantial influence notonly on the expertise you’ll need to bring to bear,but also on the project budget.

Finally, I combine the two because it is so of-ten a tendency in the pool industry to separatethem, with a pool builder often working up tothe coping and then turning the project over toa decking contractor to take care of the rest. Thisis, I think, a huge mistake when and wherethings are still done that way: It almost in-evitably leads us to ill-designed abominationsthat are still with us because they’ve become“traditional”– a word I’ve mistrusted through-out my career.

The traditional look, in which a band of pre-cast bullnose coping smacks up against a brick,stone or concrete slab of deck, is so common thatit seems at times to be the only way people thinkthese things can be done. Again, although it iscommon practice, nothing could be less accept-able in basic design terms.

From my perspective, in fact, it’s fair to saythat the traditional approach is the antithesis ofwhat should be done: The last thing you wantas a designer is to call attention to the shape ofthe pool and create an awkward visual transi-tion that doesn’t weave together any of the keyvisual elements.

I suppose, of course, if your aim is to build apool that looks as though it’s 50 years old, thenthe traditional approach might work. For anyother situation, there are far better options. Infact, there are so many options that I won’t even

By David Tisherman

tisherman: detail 85

For a design to succeed, copingand decking must work together

because they play such importantroles in defining the ultimate

‘look’ of a watershape.On the Verge

F

attempt to discuss them all here.Also in point of fact, these decisions

about coping and decking are important,mainly because most residential poolsstand relatively close to the home. Thisvisual proximity typically requires thatthere be linkages among the architectureof the home, the look of the watershapeand the details of the surrounding space.By selecting appropriately from a heftypalette of design possibilities,you can playthe weaver and effectively unite all thesespaces as a tapestry in which everythingworks together.

When you limit those choices to the tra-ditional or familiar,however, that sense ofintegration becomes elusive at best – andimpossible to attain in too many cases.

making choicesIn general terms, you can break ap-

proaches to the coping/decking decisiondown into two distinct categories: Eitheryou want the watershape to blend seam-lessly with its surroundings, in which case




I generally approach coping and decking as a single visual element in an effort to makewatershapes flow seamlessly from the pool’s interior and out into the surrounding space.Here, for example, the soft green interior finish transitions to a blend of green-tinged water-line tile and on to a pale green poured-in-place coping treatment. Everything works together,including the decking material and the plant material both in the background and in the dis-tant views.

the coping and deck material should be thesame; or you’re creating a watershape thatis to stand out as a separate artistic state-ment, in which case your options explodeand literally number in the hundreds.

This is one of the many reasons I alwayssay that,from the very beginning of the de-sign process,you need to understand whichtype of design you’re trying to achieve!

The first of the two approaches listedabove is more conservative and is probablyapplicable in most situations – that is,whenyou want the pool to blend into a settingrather than stand out within it. The secondallows you to be far more creative, but theissues involved in a successful design are farmore intricate,detailed and complicated.

In this realm of the stand-alone state-ment, for instance,one tiny change in col-or, texture or material can affect 20 otherdetails (and each of those dozens more),so everything must be thought out, an-ticipated,interelated and mastered to makethe artistic statement work coherently.(This is, incidentally, another area where



Decisions about coping and decking are particularly important when a watershape is po-sitioned near the home. In this case, the strong colors of the architecture freed me to usebold, vivid colors at the water’s edge, with everything harmonizing visually across a dis-tinctly colorful space.

on-site supervision is critical if everythingis to come together the way it must if thedesired visual effects are to be achieved.)

Let’s consider a typical freeform pool ofthe more conservative type. In most sit-uations (although not all), these are wa-tershapes for which there shouldn’t be anyvisual division between the water’s edgeand the surrounding deck surface. In thesedesigns, in other words, you never wantto create a distinct visual band around thepool’s edge with either the waterline tileor the coping because it will destroy anysense of visual flow or continuity.

Too often,however, the use of the pop-ular modular copings causes just this sortof visual break. And often, these materi-als are used with freeform pools despitethe basic fact that their contours can makeuse of these materials impractical: Theneed to make cuts and create pie shapesto cover radiuses often outweighs the con-venience that led to the choice of thesematerials in the first place.

On that score, modular materials are




The naturalistic appearance of this watershape is considerably enhanced by the way thestone decking material flows down into the pool – a continuity of color, texture and linefurther enhanced by the presence of large stone pieces around the edges and under thewater’s surface.

great when used around rectilinear wa-tershapes because they fit – especially if youtake the care to consider their size and thedesired sizes of grout joints in setting di-mensions for the structure. But still, thesematerials must be considered in the over-all design scheme,and too often I think it’sa case where convenience overwhelmsartistry and leads to some choices andbands that are disruptive in visual terms.

Again, from a design standpoint, youneed to decide whether you’re bandingthe pool to make some type of artisticstatement (let the designer beware, be-cause this is extremely hard to pull off andusually leads to ugliness and visual fail-ure) or should instead seek to blend thecoping material with the surroundingdeck material. In too many cases I’ve seen,that point isn’t considered and the resultscan be jarring.

design detailsEnough about the sins of traditional or

convenient approaches: Let’s get downto some solutions that really work in artis-tic, visual ways.

Natural stone, for example, is a won-derful material to use in edging freeformpools,because you can bring it to the edgewith no visual separation from the sur-rounding deck and can thereby create apond-like,more naturalistic appearance.In these situations, the irregular shapesand thicknesses of the material may poseinstallation issues; that’s something I ac-commodate at the planning stage by mak-ing the bond beam a little wider than usu-al to allow for placement of the masticjoint at a farther remove from the water(thus making it easier to conceal). I alsoallow depth for a deeper mortar bed tosimplify the process of blending the cop-ing stones placed atop the beam with ma-terial on the surrounding deck.

Of course, using stone in this contextforces you to consider something that isnot an issue with standard modular ma-terial: That is, you have the question ofthe back edge of the material and the wayit interfaces with the decking, the land-scape or other hardscape structures be-yond the beam. Again, there are numer-ous options ranging from the intricate(often with special stone effects) to therelatively simple (by pouring concrete).

Another option with freeform pools –and one I particularly love – is the use ofsome sort of poured-in-place-concretecoping that conforms readily to the shell’scontours. More on this below, but nowlet’s back up for a second and considersuch choices from a more refined designperspective.

The front-edge thickness of the coping

or other edge material and how it’s fin-ished will have a distinct influence the waypeople perceive a watershape (and on howthey step down into it, given the differ-ence it can make in how big a step downthey must take to get into the water). If,for instance,you choose a stone detail thatis three or four inches thick, that can be awonderful choice for pools that are meant



to appear natural and blend with theirsurroundings – and it works well withcontemporary designs as well. By con-trast, you might go with a dramatic pre-cast or poured-in-place treatment to addvisual weight.

That seems straightforward, but if thewatershape is small or otherwise “light”interms of visual weight, a thick, dramaticcoping treatment on either the naturalisticor the architectural watershape may (or maynot) be out of balance. Conversely with alarger watershape,a thin,cantilevered-stoneedge might just seem too light.

And then you need to consider whetherthe waterside edge of the coping is to havea bullnose,how it will relate to the water-line tile,whether you want it to stand outfar enough that it creates a strong shadowline. I devoted a whole column to ap-proaches to vertical surfacing in November2006,and the list of considerations couldgo on for pages,with everything depend-ing on the situation, the visual needs ofthe design and the project’s budget.

These balances, of course, are all in-tricately interrelated, which is yet anoth-er reason why design education is so im-portant. Without such a background, theprocess becomes a guessing game ratherthan a polished,visual approach to build-ing. Besides, nobody ever said good de-sign doesn’t involve lots of choices anddecisions.

refining approachesAlthough the decisions are complex

when looked at in isolation, they will cer-tainly fall into place more easily if you’reaware of certain key principles architects,artists and designers have been applyingfor centuries.

I’ve discussed all of these principles be-fore, but when it comes to thinking aboutthe edges of watershapes,visual weight is anextraordinarily important concept that hasmuch to do with how elements in a visualspace balance and work with one another.

This is incredibly important,for instance,in working with a raised wall on one side ofa pool. In most situations,raised walls serveas a useful means of integrating a water-shape with sloping topography beyond.A problem I frequently see,however,occurswhen the face of the wall is finished with thesame tile used at the waterline or,less often,



There’s no need to think of walls as monolithic monsters: By breaking them into planes andstaggering the depth of the resulting panels relative to one another, you can create dynam-ic visual backdrops for watershapes – and canvases for a subtly dancing lightshow after dark.

the weight of water

As discussed in the accompanying text, managing transitions between the water and edges,decks and raised walls comes down heavily on the need to understand visual weight.

In that context, one of my pet peeves in wall treatments is the overuse of linear spillwaysthat send long, sheer streams of water pouring into a pool. For whatever reason, this has be-come extremely popular; unfortunately, it has also contributed immensely to the uglification oflots of backyards. It’s almost as if these lines of sheeting water are installed simply because theycan be – no other reason given.

The problem is that this effect all too often throws things out of visual balance: Not only doesit draw undue attention to the wall, which is likely overpowering enough all on its own with itsexpanse of tile or stacked stone, but it also creates excessive turbulence in the water (disrupt-ing the reflective qualities of the surface) and makes far too much noise, thereby destroying thetranquility of the space with a sound not unlike that of a flushing toilet.

Then there’s the fact that these falls tend to be installed right at the top of their walls, whichonly intensifies the problems.

Again, this is an issue of scale and visual weight. This is why, when I do install such ef-fects, I prefer to break the long streams into smaller segments or use scalloped edges on thespillway to lend texture to the flow. And always, always, I make sure the streams are propor-tionate to their surroundings, which in most cases means making them mere fractions of thesize of those I see on walls with typical wall-mounted waterfall effects.

In my book, watershape design at its best has little to do with riffling through catalogs to as-semble arrays of off-the-shelf products. Instead of being bound by what’s available, good de-sign is about understanding the specifics of the situation and responding with creative, eveninnovative solutions. If that means inventing something nobody’s ever seen before to meet aneed, then so be it!

– D.T.

with some sort of ledgerstone detail. In bothcases, these fields of material carry far toomuch visual weight and can throw a com-position hopelessly out of balance.

In and of themselves, the tile or ledgermaterials may be expensive or beautiful,but when they rise above the waterline bymore than 18 inches or so, they create amassive visual field: It’s all the eye sees,and it rivets attention in a way that sim-ply should not happen.

There are,of course,exceptions,as whenthe wall is covered with a bold mosaic com-position – a key artistic statement in al-most every instance. For me, however, abetter (and far less common) approach in-volves applying plaster on the wall abovethe waterline tile with a color and texturethat blends with the pool’s interior as wellas the decking material. When you takethis tack,the wall isn’t so heavily weighted– and it becomes quite inviting if you al-low plant material to drape over it and dan-gle down toward the water.

Also, there’s nothing that says raised

walls holding back slopes beyond water-shapes need to be perfectly linear, eithervertically or horizontally. I like to staggerwalls in and out as panels, thereby break-ing up the solid planes,creating visual in-terest and adding dramatic shadow lines.(In these cases, the walls become artworkson their own after dark, when shiftinglight from underwater lights plays acrosstheir surfaces.) I also like designs in whichsmall walls are established at water’s edge,then there’s a step back to a second tier ofwalls that does the bulk of the soil reten-tion while creating a terraced effect.

Bottom line: While walls handled im-properly become little more than sourcesof visual noise, walls thoughtfully consid-ered and executed can become wonderfuledge treatments that help the designer blendwatershapes in with their surroundings.

concrete concernsAs suggested above in my mentioning

of poured-in-place copings, concrete isanother material that bears discussion

when it comes to coping and decking.Let’s assume for the moment that we’re allfamiliar enough with the practical use ofthis marvelous material and here can fo-cus instead on its use as a visual element.

In my view, architectural concrete isone of greatest materials we have at ourdisposal as designers. It can be used tocreate a range of beautiful deck and cop-ing treatments in a rainbow of subtle orbold colors, and it can be formed to justabout any desired shape and thickness.For all that, it may well be one of the mostmisunderstood of all design options.

In actuality, concrete is in a completelydifferent world from the one occupied bystone, brick, pavers or tile and, when usedwell, is nothing less than an artistic medi-um unto itself that can be used to create ex-traordinary works of art. Unfortunately,many designers (particularly in the pool/spaworld) see it strictly as a utilitarian medi-um and have never geared themselves to-ward looking at it as anything other than araw material that comes together in dull

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gray masses that are inclined to discolorand crack.

It’s time for more watershapers to set asidepreconceptions and prejudices and start toappreciate concrete’s nobler nature. Just ac-cept the fact that it alwayscracks,no excep-tions,and never creates a perfectly uniformappearance and the sky is literally the lim-it. The key is controlling where it cracks andhaving some idea how its appearance willchange – and then making sure clients’ex-pectations line up with reality.

Many years ago, I had the pleasure ofworking with the great architect, JohnLautner,who knew more than almost any-one on the planet about how to use the tex-tures,colors and,indeed,the imperfectionsof concrete to amazing effect in creatinghomes, swimming pools and hardscapesof unparalleled beauty. In the course ofthat project, I worked with wonderfulcraftspeople and came to understand con-crete as a design element in all-new ways.

Lautner worked with concrete in everyimaginable form – textured,smooth,acid-etched, stained and brushed. He also fa-vored board-formed concrete that re-vealed impressions of wood grain whenthe forms were removed. Ever since myexperience with him and his crews, I’vespent my career exploring the almost un-limited visual potential of this materialand have tried to honor Lautner by usingthe material he most loved in interest-ing and occasionally unusual ways.

care and feedingAs with most design materials,working

with concrete is definitely a matter of find-ing craftspeople who know how to form it,install structural steel and mesh,mix it andfinish it. Otherwise, any of the hundredsof variables involved in mastering the ma-terial can make things spin out of control.

And there’s a lot to consider, includingthe material’s compression, tension, ex-pansion, contraction and chipping – notto mention engineering issues related tostructural steel and wire mesh and thepractical and aesthetic issues having to dowith cracking and weathering and sus-taining visual effects. If you don’t under-stand and manage those issues, the ma-terial will control you and you’ll wind upwith visual defects that make for client dis-

pleasure down the line. In other words,there’s much here to be considered.

Take color, for instance – an excep-tionally complex subject with respect toconcrete. You can use all sorts of dyes andoxides to create different colors that arebeautiful, but you can’t expect to get thesame color every time because there aretoo many variables in play. Differencesin batches, curing times, aggregate mix-es, troweling techniques or even the chem-istry of the mix water impose slight dis-tinctions,and these express themselves inall sorts of different ways over time andfrom one spot on a surface to another.

When you understand these variablesand communicate effectively with clientsabout the behavior of the material,the way-ward nature of concrete can even be usedto your advantage. But if you don’t andcan’t guide your clients away from expect-ing uniform perfection (or, worse, don’tengineer and install it properly), architec-tural concrete can become a nightmare.

As I see it, the capacity to see and un-

derstand topics such as these – visualweight, balance, the nature of concrete– in the broad context of watershapingand of setting up coping and decks – iswhat separates the artist from the pre-tender. The good news is, there are waysto get the training and education you needto step up to a higher level, so why not?

Believe me, my own career is testimo-ny to the fact that this kind of investmentpays for itself over and over again as theyears pass.



WS

David Tisherman is the principal in two de-sign/construction firms: David Tisherman’sVisuals of Manhattan Beach, Calif., and LiquidDesign of Cherry Hill, N.J. He is also co-founderand principal instructor for the Genesis 3 DesignGroup, which offers education aimed at top-of-the-line performance in aquatic design andconstruction. He can be reached via e-mail [email protected].

37

to diminish the painted ponies of The Wizardof Oz, but Steve Mann’s hydraulophones are horses of a dif-ferent color. These watershapes come in all sorts of shapes andsizes, from landmark centerpieces that have the sculpturalgrandeur of pipe organs all the way down to water-flutes thatresemble brightly colored tadpoles.

What’s most remarkable about these devices isn’t just theirstructural and artistic variety or the ways they look as visual art:It’s the sounds they make. At first, the natural comparison is toa pipe organ, but as you listen, a variety of shadings and othersonic reverberations emerge, slip and slide around you.

What’s more, hydraulophones invite people to insert theirfingers into the jetting water to shape the sound and squeezeout the shape of each note, and a variety of sonic textures arepossible depending upon how the flow is manipulated. Withpractice,participants can sculpt an array of purely aquatic soundsas well as what sounds like an entire orchestra of oboes, flutesand harmonicas.

The hydraulophone’s inventor,Steve Mann,has been playingwith (and playing) these devices for about 20 years now, find-ing more and more ways to put them in places where people cansee,hear and become personally involved with them. We caughtup with him early in December 2007 as he was rehearsing for aformal holiday concert at which his instrument of choice was tohave a starring role.

Fluid Melodies

Not

For the past 20 years, Toronto-based artist, scien-tist, inventor, professor and musician Steve Mannhas been inventing, creating, building and playingwhat he calls ‘hydraulophones.’ Part fountain, partinteractive waterfeature, part musical instrumentand in all ways unusual, these systems enable adults,children and anyone who cares to give one a try theability to manipulate the flow of water to create mu-sical notes, harmonies and melodies.

An Interview with Steve Mann


WaterShapes: How did you startdown this path of creating musical in-struments that use water to createsound?

Steve Mann: I began by wanting tochallenge the conceptual boundary be-tween work and play.

A big part of the idea behind the hy-draulophone is the notion of what I call the“urban beach,”a place where aquatic sculp-tures invite people not only to look at themas objects, but also become engaged withthem as active parts of the environment.It’s a place where people can play in the

water with either their fingers or their wholebodies.

The great thing about a hydraulophoneis that it injects this note of playfulness andalters one’s perception of a space in sub-tle ways – maybe even subversive ways.It works because a hydraulophone can bea majestic architectural centerpiece at thesame time it brings aquatic play into thepicture. In effect, it breaks down the sep-aration between parks and beaches andserious places where people don’t typicallythink of fun and play.

Business parks or university campuses,for example, can be very serious architec-

tural environments: What a hydraulophonedoes is introduce a playful element into thesetting in a way that enhances the scenerather than contradicting it the way an or-dinary play feature would.

WS: So the concept of ‘play’ is ex-tremely important?

Mann: My use of the word play is a dou-ble entendre in the sense that we talk about“playing an instrument”at the same time ahydraulophone is about getting people ofall ages (not just children!) to “play” in thesense of a child playing with a toy.

I think that’s an especially fascinatingconcept: It’s as much about getting adultsto play as it is getting children to play. Andwith hydraulophones, they are often invit-ed to do this playing in spaces that onewould not normally think of as play spaces– such as at the main entrance to a land-mark architecture site.

WS: What made you think of mar-rying water and music?

Mann: When we learn about music inschool, we’re taught that there are onlythree kinds of acoustic instruments:


Through years of development, the hydraulo-phone has become a serious musical instru-ment capable of great range and depth ofsound – so much so that it has moved into theconcert hall where it holds its own among con-ventional orchestral instruments.

strings, percussion and wind. As I stud-ied music, I began to think of percussionand strings as being far more similar toeach other than either of them are to windinstruments: Strings and percussion in-struments both make sounds with solidmatter while the wind instruments use air.

But the piano, for example, is both apercussion and a string instrument: Itchallenges this boundary. So before long,I came to think of only two categories ofacoustic instruments – solid and gas –with two subcategories in the solid col-umn (strings and percussion) and twomore in the gas column (woodwinds andbrass).

Taking this line of thought a couple stepsfarther, school also teaches us that thereare three states of matter in nature – sol-id, liquid and gas. This led me to ask, “Whynot try to create an instrument that worksoff matter in a liquid state? Why not takean instrument similar to a flute and havewater flow through it instead of air?” In thatsense, I was thinking of a hydraulophoneas an entirely new category of instrument.

WS: Where were you when you firstcame up with the idea of creating a liq-uid musical instrument?

Mann: It’s something I’ve had in theback of my mind for a very long time, so Ican’t think of an exact time or place. Butif there was a specific trigger that reallymotivated me to further develop and per-fect this invention, it’s an event I remem-ber from the mid-1980s.

At the time, I was watching and listeningas a liquid-nitrogen truck filled the tanks in anearby building and remember being in-trigued by the sound of the fluid flowing

WATERsHAPES � FEBRUARY 2008 39

Along a distant but parallel track, hydraulo-phones also moved onto the playground,where children (and their parents) are utterlyfascinated by the curious sounds the tadpole-shaped Nessie makes when they play with thejets of water.

through the pipes and how it made a whistlingnoise that was actually a very pure note thatwould shoot up a perfect fifth every once ina while. This inspired me to make up a songin which I tried to capture the spirit of thesound: It was called “Liquid Nitrogen,” andto this day it’s one of my favorite songs to per-form on a hydraulophone.

As I experimented more and more, I de-veloped systems with high and low pres-sure levels in which different kinds of soundscome from the instrument depending onhow you position your fingers over eachof the water jets. What’s really fun abouthydraulophones is that sounds differ whenyou block the edge of the water jet (wherethe water is moving with less velocity) ascompared to blocking the center.

WS: What made you think youcould do all this? How did your back-ground influence you and contributeto the hydraulophone concept?

Mann: Ever since I can remember, I’vebeen interested in interdisciplinary stud-ies and thinking. I went to the Massa-chusetts Institute of Technology becauseMIT is the kind of school where studentsare encouraged to be technically crazy aswell as artistically crazy over a wide vari-ety of disciplines.

This education taught me to think interms of combining disparate conceptsto create something totally new. The hy-draulophone is a perfect example of that

kind of thinking: On the one hand, it’s atechnical device with various hydraulic andstructural elements; on the other, it’s verymuch about art both in being a musical in-strument and in being sculpture. And whenyou consider that it blends art and tech-nology with fundamental forms of humanbehavior, you can see that it cuts acrossseveral major conceptual boundaries.

That sort of creative collision has al-ways fascinated me. I think that’s wherenew things come from, by combiningideas and applying them in ways thathaven’t been considered before. At thesame time, I take personal joy in disrupt-ing traditional categories and like the factthat I’ve stirred up some controversy inthe field of organology because authori-ties in the field simply don’t know how tocategorize hydraulophones.

WS: Do you particularly enjoy chal-lenging conventions?

Mann: I think there’s something to besaid for asking questions and challeng-ing boundaries. As James Baldwin oncesaid, “The purpose of art is to lay bare thequestions which have been hidden by theanswers.”

Insects exist by performing very spe-cific, categorical functions. Humans aremore complex, and I believe we shouldhave the capacity to transcend catego-rization. And, yes, I do like the fact that thework I do confounds categories.

WS: When did you create the firsthydraulophone?

Mann: I’ve invented, designed and builthundreds of different types of hydraulo-phones through the past two decades, eachof them quite different from one another, soit’s hard to put an exact date on it. But it wasat some point in the mid-1980s, when I com-posed “Liquid Nitrogen” and began pursu-ing distinct sounds, tuning and intonationwith my early hydraulophones.

WS: How have they evolved?

Mann: The first hydraulophones werevery difficult to play. You had to press downon the jets really hard to create a note – up-wards of 60 to 70 pounds of pressure persquare inch. In fact, when I first started play-ing back then, I would do pushups on myfingertips to make my fingers strong enoughto play the instrument comfortably – andeven then my hands would quickly becomeextremely tired.

In the years since those first incarna-tions, much of the development/refinementprocess has been aimed at creating in-struments that require just a light touch sothat everyone from very small children –even babies – to elderly people with arthri-tis can play them.

It interests me that people talk about hy-draulophones as though they’re all one thing,but I’ve actually made hundreds of differentinstruments that respond in different ways


and operate on vastly different principles. In actuality, it’s a wholefamily of instruments that use water: Some are simple and othersare extremely complex.

WS: So the use of water is the unifying characteristic?

Mann: Obviously, yes, but there’s also the way they’re playedthat unifies them and makes them all “hydraulophones.” The onething they all have in common is that you have a row of water jetsand make sounds by pressing down on those jets, obstructing theflow and creating different notes and chords.

The whole range of hydraulophones shares this unifying char-acteristic. On one end of the spectrum are massive public-artpieces that exist as permanent installations;on the other, we makevery simple hydraulophones that are scaled for use by small chil-dren – and there are numerous iterations in between.

WS: What actually creates the sound?

Mann: That’s an interesting question, because among peoplewho make musical instruments of all sorts, there’s a constant de-bate about what actually makes the sound. In a woodwind instru-ment that has a reed – such as a clarinet, for example – the reedvibrates in such a way that it can be partially credited with gener-ating and manipulating air movement.

In a reedless wind instrument such as the flute, however, thesound is most certainly made by the air. Thus flutes are purerexamples of wind instruments: Although the sound is modifed

by covering up finger holes (or pressing the keys or levers) in dif-ferent combinations, the wind is what makes the sound.

Hydraulophones are new, so their sound production is not as wellunderstood and is something we’re investigating. What I’ve donein all cases is replace human breath with the flow from a gardenhose or pump to create different notes at different finger holes while


The potential these watershapes have to attract the attention of musi-cians, parents, children, seniors – people of every age and walk of life– has made hydraulophones star performers in public places, wherethey break down basic social inhibitions and encourage interactive playin a way few other installations ever could.

maintaining the ability to affect subtle, in-dependent changes in sound at each hole.

WS: Are all hydraulophones cus-tom-made for specific applications?

Mann: Not quite. I’ve worked throughthe years with designer Chris Aimone, andtogether we’ve come up with a “standard”hydraulophone for interactive waterplay.These units resemble giant tadpoles orsmall whales – a sort of sea-serpent-likeshape, so we call her “Nessie”after the LochNess Monster. Children seem to love her.

On larger scales, Chris and I do customdesign/production work, generally break-ing things down into three steps: initialstudy, design and execution. To that ex-tent, larger pieces of the sort that becomecivic sculptures are definitely application-specific instruments.

WS: I can’t help noticing that yourefer to hydraulophones using the fe-male gender. Why is that?

Mann: It just seems to work that way.The Loch Ness Monster, for example, is al-ways referred to as “she,”and ships are usu-ally also referred to in feminine terms – asare many large bodies of water such aslakes. But there may also be something elseat work here, something more primal, be-cause people have told me that hydraulo-phones speak with a feminine voice.

I once played a concert in New York,and afterwards a woman came up to me– crying and smiling at the same time –and said that she was really moved by theperformance. Then she said somethingthat’s stuck with me ever since: “This isreally fantastic, it’s really woman. Air in-struments are male, but water is woman.”We don’t necessarily want to read toomuch into it, but there’s probably an as-pect of water that invokes the whole ideaof the return to the womb.

WS: Were you influenced by theWater Organ at Villa d’Este and its useof water to create sounds?

Mann: Actually, no. People have askedme before if I was inspired by Greek orRoman fountains that made sounds, butthose installations didn’t use water as a“user interface,”nor did they make soundswith water. Instead, the water was a sourceof power that moved air to create sounds.In a hydraulophone, by contrast, the waterisn’t just a source of power, but is also boththe user interface and the source of thesound.

WS: Where have you been installingyour hydraulophones? What sorts ofenvironments?

Mann: So far, we’ve placed them in pub-lic parks, college campuses, communityaquatic centers, waterparks and evensome retirement villages, and I have thesense that they’ll work just about anywherepeople congregate. What’s unique aboutthem is that they bring the concept of wa-terplay to a level of sophistication thatmakes it appeal to people of all ages.Children love them and so do adults; in fact,some older folks with arthritis actually usehydraulophones in music therapy, whichstrikes me as a wonderful application.

It’s interesting to note that, while aquat-ic play appeals to people of all ages, adultssometimes don’t indulge in it because ofsocial constraints on behavior: You mightwant to run through a fountain on a hotday, but you don’t do it because that’s notwhat adults generally do unless they’veimbibed a bit and have broken down theirinhibitions.

But hydraulophones are musical instru-

ments, so that whole psychology shifts andadults feel free to play because they’re mak-ing music: That’s a much more sophisti-cated form of play than simply splashingaround and getting wet.

There’s also the educational aspect:Whereas parents are often hesitant to lettheir children play in public fountains andcome home with wet clothes, they seemto take delight at hearing their kids play sim-ple songs on the hydraulophone.

We even do music lessons on the hy-draulophone: Learning music has neverbeen this much fun!

WS: How would you describe yourcreative process?

Mann: That’s not so easy to answer.With the hydraulophone, for instance, I wasdirectly inspired by a dream I had that I wasplaying a fountain the way someone wouldplay a pipe organ, but well before then I’dspent a great deal of time in my childhoodtaking things apart to see how they worked.

Hydraulophones function and exist basedon known scientific principles using com-mon materials. They may be based on whatmay seem wild-eyed or off-the-wall con-cepts, but the process of making them isvery thoroughly grounded in reality.

One of the things I like most about whatI do is that I’ve given myself license todream and work – to have my head in theclouds and my feet on the ground at thesame time. Again, it’s my way of breakingdown the boundaries between technologyand art.

WS: Do you think the fact that hy-draulophones use water to make mu-sic is the main reason people find themso fascinating?

Mann: Absolutely. There’s somethingalmost otherworldly about the sounds theymake, but I accept the fact that the wateritself stirs people’s imaginations andevokes emotional responses: They don’thave to think about it much to conjure thealmost primal feeling of being connectedto nature by touching water. When youadd in the fact that by touching water youmake music, something very interestinghappens that is fairly profound at the sametime it’s a lot of fun.


The Ears Have It

This is a case where hearing is morethan half the fun.

To get a clearer sense of what these in-struments are all about, go to the Internet,type in www.youtube.com on yourbrowser and search on hydraulophone.

You might also want to look in atwww.funtain.ca and www.wearcam.org– sites with more information on hy-draulophones.

There are several film clips for viewing,and we’d recommend closing your eyesto drink in the sounds if it wasn’t so muchmore interesting to watch.

– WS



There’s something frolicsome about it. You don’t have to be a mu-sician to enjoy playing it, but musicians go nuts because they canplay songs while having all that fun.

WS: Do you write music specifically for hydraulophone?

Mann: Yes I do, and I’ve even invented new kinds of musi-cal notation for hydraulophones to capture their full capabilities.

A hydraulophone has all the notes that you’d expect to find oncommon orchestral instruments, but the sound has a different qual-ity from any other instrument I’ve ever heard. Its basic sound suitssongs written in minor keys – which is fantastic because childrenseem to respond well to music in minor keys for some reason – butof course it can be played in major keys as well.

The sound is almost otherworldly, a singing voice of a very spe-cial sort. And with practice, you can learn to bend and squeezenotes by the way you press the jets, which allows you to expandthe range and create notes that don’t exist on standard instru-ments.

WS: Because hydraulophones exist in the environmentand can be played by anyone who wants to give it a try, dothey change the way you think about‘performance’?

Mann: Most definitely. In fact, they com-pletely break down the separation betweenthe audience and the performer.

In a typical concert, the performers sit ona stage, protected by the proscenium, andthe audience sits on the other side of thatbarrier at a set time in anticipation of hear-ing well-rehearsed pieces of often-familiarmusic. By its very nature, a hydraulophonedeconstructs that entire system, creating aspace in which there’s an ongoing perfor-mance with no separation between the au-dience and the performers.

In addition, one of the things I really likeabout the hydraulophone is that you can seewhat it sounds like. Not only does the samenote sound sadder when you cover the edgeof a finger hole instead of its center, but italso looks sadder, with the water jet droop-ing down in a sad-looking kind of way. Thismakes playing the hydraulophone very vi-sual as a performance medium.

Also, because the hydraulophone makessounds on its own when no one’s playing it,you don’t even need performers at all:Proximity is all it takes to enjoy what’s hap-pening. But usually, once people recognizethat all they have to do is walk up, press thejets and make music, they don’t hesitateto get involved: Hydraulophones are veryfriendly in that way.

At the same time as they encourage play, larger hydraulophones canalso serve the monumental needs of public spaces, arriving on the scenelike alien pipe organs to create visual cores for plazas, courtyards andcivic centers.


As I see it, successful landscape lighting is a two-part process:First, the designer applies aesthetic principles that create theart, then he or she supports that artistic vision with scientific andtechnological savvy. One without the other doesn’t work: Youcan’t effectively practice the art until you’ve mastered the science.

In my 17 years as a lighting designer, I’ve encountered lots ofprofessionals who have the artistic part of the equation down patbut fall well short when it comes to working with electricity. Theplain fact is, you can use the best fixtures in the world and un-derstand the aesthetic issues like the back of your hand,but if youcan’t consistently deliver power to those fixtures at correct, reli-able voltages, the overall system will not perform properly andhas the potential to become a maintenance nightmare.

There’s no way a single article can bring anyone up to speedwith all of the issues involved in the science lighting. Instead,my intention here is to introduce watershapers to a basic, com-monsense approach to laying out low-voltage,halogen lightingsystems, the goal being to enable you to converse intelligentlyand persuasively with lighting designers in the interest of help-ing your clients obtain systems that not only look good,but alsofunction properly.

Proper FunctionJust as is the case with watershapers, there’s a definite need

for taking care in selecting a lighting designer. These days, infact, a big part of my business involves fixing systems that don’tdeliver the requisite 11 to 12 volts of electricity to each of theirlow-voltage halogen fixtures. (And it’s fair to say that most sys-tems these days use halogen technology: Since arriving onthe scene some 20 years ago, these lamps and fixtures have bothrevolutionized and come to dominate landscape lighting.)

Time and again, I’m called in to evaluate systems installed bysomeone who may have had the right ideas when it came tomaking a setting look good but who simply lacked the neces-sary understanding of basic electrical concepts and made theclient compensate for that deficit by paying for frequent, ex-pensive lamp replacements in systems generally inclined tobreakdowns.

Overcoming these long-term maintenance concerns is whyI’m such a stickler when it comes to defining and achievingproper voltage levels: I know that if a system operates outsidethe recommended voltage tolerances (a common feature of im-properly designed systems), fixtures won’t function correctlyand will either be too dim or burn too hot.

If the voltage reaching a halogen lamp is too low,the tungstengas in the lamp won’t deposit properly on the filament: The de-

The Science of Lighting

When designed and installed properly, a landscapelighting system enables clients to enjoy their water-shapes and landscapes well after the sun goes down.But achieving those satisfactory results, says light-ing expert Mike Gambino, requires an understandingnot only of the aesthetics of lighting design, but alsoan appreciation of the technology behind the beautyand an ability to lay components out in ways thatelectrically balance the system.

By Mike Gambino

sired “halogen effect” therefore cannotoccur and the light output will be signif-icantly dimmed. Conversely, if the volt-age is too high, the lamps will burn toobrightly and the desired visual effects willbe distorted by hot spots. Moreover,when lights don’t operate at the propervoltages – high or low – they don’t last aslong as they should. These early burnoutsfrustrate clients,which is one of the mainreasons I receive calls to work on exist-ing systems.

The picture is somewhat complicatedby the fact that halogen lamps are avail-able for operation over a range of volt-ages,with 12 and 120-volt units being themost common. To me, the lowest-volt-age (12-volt) option is the best (and safest)option: When installed in properly de-signed systems,these lamps offer tremen-dous output relative to energy con-sumption and will last a long, long time.

The specification sheets for most ofthese 12-volt halogen lamps say that 10.8volts are needed to generate enough heatto create and perpetuate the halogen ef-fect. When input falls below that level,these lights can’t work as designed – it’sas simple as that.

But as I see it,one of the keys to work-ing successfully with halogen lamps is tostop thinking about them as individual

components and instead to see them aslinks in systems of variable lengths,withelectrical balance within any given sys-tem being the goal.

Working Toward a BalanceIt’s not a perfect analogy, but you

might find it useful as watershapers tothink of lighting systems as being simi-lar in some ways to hydraulic systems:Where every jet in a spa has a recom-mended operating tolerance relative toflow and pressure and a balanced hy-draulic system is one that creates a con-dition where all jets in the system op-erate within the proper range, the samegenerally holds true for lighting systems:You want to create a system where everyfixture operates within its specified range.

Those who don’t understand the needfor this balance often (and unwittingly)design systems where one lamp mightbe receiving 9 volts and another receiv-ing 13 or more. You don’t have to be anelectrical engineer to get the point that,under those conditions, some lights willbe dim while others will burn too hotand prematurely fail. To avoid theseproblems, I make certain that every fix-ture in a cluster of lights operates with-in a half volt of the others within the 11-to-12-volt range.

This objective puts a tremendousamount of pressure on the system-designprocess and the way I lay out my systems.

In my view, the best place to start iswith the power feed (or “home run”),which is the wire that delivers powerfrom the transformer to the fixtures. Justas with water and pressure in hydraulicsystems,as electricity flows over a lengthof wire, voltage drops or attenuates be-cause of resistance it meets along the way.Therefore, I lay out my systems so thatthese home runs feed small clusters oflights situated no more than several feetapart from each other.

My systems are all arranged so that thehome run connects to a fixture that actsas a hub,with all other fixtures on that cir-cuit wired to either side of the hub inwhat’s referred to as the “T method.” Acommon (and incorrect) alternative to thisis the series (“daisy chain”) approach inwhich the home run feeds a single fixture;wires then pass in sequence to a succes-sion of other fixtures along the line. Usingthis option, fixtures at the end of the linewill inevitably receive less voltage than theone wired directly to the home run.

I group my systems in sets of three tofive fixtures with lines branching off ofthe hub because this arrangement helpsme equalize the voltage at each fixture.I also take a conservative approach to thestandard manufacturer recommenda-tion that there should be no more than25 feet of wire between the home runand the last fixture on a given side of thehub. In fact, I seldom come anywhereclose to pressing that limit: If a layouthas me putting a fixture any more than15 feet away from the home run, I’ll usea separate home run for that fixture.

Yes, this often means my systems be-come quite complicated in a schematicsense, but it’s the only way I’ve found todeliver the desired, fully balanced resultsmy clients crave.

Wired UpAfter appropriate layout, the next key

to good system design has to do with thewires chosen to get the job done.

There are several schools of thoughton this,but experience has taught me tostick with 12-gauge wire – and this is de-spite the fact that many manufacturers


In the field, I start the layout process by placing flags where I want lighting fixtures to go, thenwork my way back through each branching series and home run in the system to ensure eachgroup of fixtures will be adequately served with respect to power delivery.

pre-install 16-gauge wires with their fix-tures as 25-foot leads ready for connec-tion to the home run. As I see it,16-gaugewire leads to a high level of voltage dropthat I can avoid by using 12-gauge wirewith runs of a more conservative length.

Without delving deep into electricaltheory, lamp wattage is another factorhere. Most low-voltage lamps operate atbetween 20 and 50 watts, with higherwattage meaning brighter light andgreater resistance (and voltage drop) atthat fixture. Using this consideration tomy advantage,I always connect my homerun to the fixture operating at the high-est wattage.

If, for example, I have a cluster withfour fixtures, two operating at 35 wattsand two at 20 watts, I’ll establish the hubat one of the 35-watt fixtures. Then I’llrun one wire to the other 35-watt fixtureand the other to one of the 20-watt fix-tures and then the next 20-watt fixture,thus balancing the voltage drop to the


I’m a firm believer in checking and rechecking voltage outputs and amperage draws at the trans-former. As I see it, a multimeter is to a low voltage landscape lighter what a stethoscope is toa doctor: It’s the only way I’ve found to be assured that lamps in the system are getting powerat the proper level. (Notice that all cables are color-coded for easy identification in the field.)

I typically install the home run of cable directly to the ‘middle’ fixture in any given grouping and test the voltage there to determine the power ter-minal on the transformer to which I will be connecting that particular wire to achieve an optimal level of 11.4 to 11.8 volts. As long as the otherfixtures in the grouping are relatively close to this power connection, there’s no need to take readings at the other fixtures.

greatest degree possible for that set offixtures,with 35 watts on one side of thehub and 40 on the other.

Again, distance is extremely impor-tant: If,using the example just described,the 35-watt fixtures are just five feet apartand the hub fixture is operating at 11.5volts,you’ll probably only lose about two-tenths of a volt between those fixtures –well within the target operating range.When the distance is greater and I see avoltage drop of, say, half a volt or more,I’ll sidestep any potential problems by es-tablishing a separate home run.

As far as installation is concerned, Idepart from some other lighting expertsin that I don’t typically use junction box-es to create hubs. Instead, I’ll wire thehome run directly to the fixture itself.I do so because, through the years, I’vefound that the added crimp connectionswhere the 25 feet of 16-gauge wire tran-sitions to the 18-gauge socket wire some-times come apart; moreover, junctionboxes themselves can be hard to find lat-er on,especially if the landscape has sub-sequently been altered in some way.

Transformed RealityThe next key to creating an effective,

satisfying lighting system has to do withknowing the capabilities and limitationsof the transformers you’re using.

These days, most commercially avail-able low-voltage lighting systems usemulti-tap transformers. These units havemultiple ports or taps that connect at dif-ferent voltage levels,commonly as 11- to15-volt outputs in single-volt increments.Connecting home runs to the differenttaps enables you to compensate for volt-age losses experienced with a given line.

The problem with transformers,how-ever, is that they’re not all created equal.Let’s say, for illustration, that you havetwo identical systems wired to trans-formers that have the same nominal out-puts but come from different manufac-turers. Experience tells me that onemight deliver the exact specified voltage,but the other could be off by a volt oreven more. That’s a huge difference withthe sort of sensitive systems we’re deal-ing with: If you’re not aware of the idio-syncrasies of the transformer, you cando everything right and still end up with

an out-of-balance system because youdon’t know the actual voltage you’re de-livering to the hub.

The reason for this supplier-to-sup-plier variability is the fact that there areno standards for how transformersshould react once loads are placed onthem. Each vendor chooses which sizeof wire to use in their cores and coils, forexample,and each one chooses a systemconfiguration. In addition,when trans-formers are checked on the assemblyline, they are tested unloaded for prop-er output despite the fact that a load willchange output to differing degrees.

Some might argue the point with me,but this variability in performance hasled me to ignore the charts that accom-

pany transformers. Instead, the only wayto get predictable results is to mock sys-tems up and check outputs with a voltmeter: Only then can you be absolute-ly sure of the voltage level you’re deliv-ering to the hub.

In my own practice,I’ve become so ob-sessed with controlling transformer out-puts that I now work with a vendor thatmakes me units featuring taps at half-voltincrements – that is,11.5,12,12.5,13 and13.5 volts on up to 15 volts. This enablesme to create extremely precise voltagelevels for various lighting clusters whilestaying within the 11-to-12-volt operat-ing range with each of my fixtures.

This can be done with single-volt-in-terval transformers, but I’ve found this


This transformer unit is typical of those I use in my projects. It’s a custom style I’ve worked outwith one of my suppliers and has the advantage of allowing me to adjust voltages at 0.5 voltincrements – a big edge when it comes to setting up groups of lamps so they all receive powerwithin the target range. In addition, this unit features magnetic primary- and secondary-circuitprotection, bypass of control modules for service, a manual override, LED indicator lights andenough room to hold three control devices, such as a timer, a photocell and a dimmer switch.

The Power of TransformationFor more than a decade, the Genesis 3 Design Schools haveinfluenced the professional lives of hundreds of watershapers.It’s an unfolding story of elevation and transformation best toldby those who’ve experienced ‘life after Genesis.’

‘Excellent curriculum. Outstanding instructors. This isthe type of education that can bring some credibility andprofessionalism to our trade.’– Kevin Bradic, Torrey Pines Engineering & Construction,

Carlsbad, Calif.

‘I wish this had been available a long time ago. Veryinformative and helpful. Has made me think about how Ihave been performing in the past and how I will perform

in the future.’ – Kirk Gillette, Kirk’s Pool Corp., Redlands, Calif.

‘The class was very educational and motivational andthe instructors and information were outstanding. Tohave a group of people with the same goal of being thebest in our business and to be part of that elite group isfantastic. Genesis 3 is taking the swimming pool indus-try to the highest level.’ – Brian Bergeski, American Pool Management, Edison, N.J.

Listen to What Others Are Saying About Their Student Experiencewith The Pool & Watershape Construction School! Come join us at

the Florida Pool & Spa Show

February 21-23, 2008

General Show Track Classes

Thursday, 8 am-12 noon

“Introduction to Basic Rendering” (Milt Dorsey)

Thursday, 1:15-5:15 pm

“Technical Applications of Water inTransit” (Brian Van Bower, Skip Phillips

& Randy Beard)

Friday, 9:45-11:25 am

“Job Costing for Profit vs. Existence” (Brian Van Bower)

Saturday, 9:45-11:25 am

“Project Profiles: Execution ofTechnically Advanced Watershapeswith Challenging Site Conditions”

(Brian Van Bower, Skip Phillips & Randy Beard)

To Register for General Track Sessions at the upcoming show, visit

www.floridapoolshow.com or contact show management at (941) 952-9293.

Experience more of the power of transformation!National Plasterers Council Conference

February 13-16, 2008Orlando, Florida

www.npconline.org

California Landscape Contractors Association (CLCA) Conference

February 26-28, 2008Los Angeles, California

www.clca.org


Founded by: David Tisherman, Skip Phillips and Brian Van Bower(615) 907-1274 / Toll Free: (877) 513-5800 / FAX: (615) 907-7338

www.genesis3.com / [email protected]

GENESIS 3 - THE INTERNATIONAL FORUM FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR WATERSHAPE DESIGNERS


fine-tuning enhancement to be most helpful, especially whenyou have 11.2 volts at the hub: This will result in less than 11volts being delivered to downstream fixtures, but moving upto the next-higher tap will leave you with an unacceptable 12.2volts at the hub. With 0.5-volt increments, however, 11.7 voltsis just right.

The other big variable with transformers is simply how manycables you can connect to them. The units I use have super-sized terminals to which I can attach up to eight 12-gauge ca-bles per common tap (of which I have two per 25-amp circuit),thus giving me the capability of connecting 16 cables. Someunits have smaller terminals that handle just three cables – acapacity factor that plays a large role in system design.

Also,there are big differences in quality with respect to the con-nections themselves: Some transformers, for example, enableto you to make internal connections, while others (generally onthe low end) have only external terminals that will be exposedto the elements and other potential types of damage.

At the SourceMoving even farther back along the electrical chain of things,

it’s important to ensure that the transformers in any given sys-tem aren’t overloading the breakers on a home’s electrical ser-vice panel. A 120-volt circuit will support a total of 2,400 watts,but it is best never to load them with more than 80 percent ofthat capacity,meaning you can predictably draw approximately1,800 watts from any single 120-amp circuit.

On small projects, for example, if you have a dedicated break-er for the lighting system, a single circuit often does the trick asit takes many 20- to 50-watt fixtures to exceed the 1,800-watt lev-el. Obviously,however, if you have a large system with hundreds

of fixtures,you need to be aware of circuitcapacity and make provision to tap intomultiple breakers.

Some lighting specialists get themselvesinto trouble when their systems share acircuit with other systems – pool equip-ment, for example. The other systemmight demand a lion’s share of the cir-cuit’s available wattage – so much so thatwhen everything is operating, the loadwill exceed capacity and the circuit break-er will overheat and cut off all power.

The best situation is one in whichthe lighting has its own circuit. Failingthat, you need to know the peak drawof all other devices on the line andplan accordingly.

In addition, you need to consideravailable amperage. As a rule, I prefertapping into 120-volt circuits that op-erate at 20 rather than 15 amps. Thereason for this is straightforward: A15-amp circuit is wired with 14-gauge

The length of a wire run in a lighting system makes a big differencein performance because of voltage drop. In this case, for example,the need to bury the cable along meandering contours added to thelength of the wire needed to create the home run – not necessarilya huge factor, but enough of one that it required me to recheck volt-ages once everything was in place.

How Low is ‘Low’?What do we mean when we say “low voltage”?These days, there are two schools of thought: To some, low voltage means any-

thing lower than 30 volts (as in the National Electric Code) despite the fact that theUnderwriters Laboratories (UL) won’t approve transformers operating at levels greaterthan 15 volts. Indeed, some manufacturers still produce systems that operate at high-er voltages, but I’m in the other camp, which means that I believe low voltage refersto those systems that operate at UL-approved levels of 15 volts or lower.

The biggest problem I see with systems that operate above 15 volts is that, whena light or two burns out, the voltage levels at the other fixtures rise dramatically andwill burn out remaining lamps in rapid order. (This happens because a burnt-outlamp offers no resistance in the line, so voltage levels rise for other lamps on the cir-cuit.) When more lamps burn out, the problems multiply and you have a dominoeffect that will harm every lamp on a particular line. (This is a particular problem oncircuits connected to taps of higher than 15 volts.

Another issue, of course, is inspections: Although such checks are rare, landscapelighting systems are sometimes scrutinized and you can run into problems for us-ing equipment that lacks UL approval.

– M.G.

The Power of TransformationFor more than a decade, the Genesis 3 Design Schools haveinfluenced the professional lives of hundreds of watershapers.It’s an unfolding story of elevation and transformation best toldby those who’ve experienced ‘life after Genesis.’

‘Excellent curriculum. Outstanding instructors. This isthe type of education that can bring some credibility andprofessionalism to our trade.’– Kevin Bradic, Torrey Pines Engineering & Construction,

Carlsbad, Calif.

‘I wish this had been available a long time ago. Veryinformative and helpful. Has made me think about how Ihave been performing in the past and how I will perform

in the future.’ – Kirk Gillette, Kirk’s Pool Corp., Redlands, Calif.

‘The class was very educational and motivational andthe instructors and information were outstanding. Tohave a group of people with the same goal of being thebest in our business and to be part of that elite group isfantastic. Genesis 3 is taking the swimming pool indus-try to the highest level.’ – Brian Bergeski, American Pool Management, Edison, N.J.

Listen to What Others Are Saying About Their Student Experiencewith The Pool & Watershape Construction School! Come join us at

the Florida Pool & Spa Show

February 21-23, 2008

General Show Track Classes

Thursday, 8 am-12 noon

“Introduction to Basic Rendering” (Milt Dorsey)

Thursday, 1:15-5:15 pm

“Technical Applications of Water inTransit” (Brian Van Bower, Skip Phillips

& Randy Beard)

Friday, 9:45-11:25 am

“Job Costing for Profit vs. Existence” (Brian Van Bower)

Saturday, 9:45-11:25 am

“Project Profiles: Execution ofTechnically Advanced Watershapeswith Challenging Site Conditions”

(Brian Van Bower, Skip Phillips & Randy Beard)

To Register for General Track Sessions at the upcoming show, visit

www.floridapoolshow.com or contact show management at (941) 952-9293.

Experience more of the power of transformation!National Plasterers Council Conference

February 13-16, 2008Orlando, Florida

www.npconline.org

California Landscape Contractors Association (CLCA) Conference

February 26-28, 2008Los Angeles, California

www.clca.org


Founded by: David Tisherman, Skip Phillips and Brian Van Bower(615) 907-1274 / Toll Free: (877) 513-5800 / FAX: (615) 907-7338

www.genesis3.com / [email protected]

GENESIS 3 - THE INTERNATIONAL FORUM FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR WATERSHAPE DESIGNERS


wire and creates a greater voltage dropon the 120-volt or primary side thandoes the 12-gauge wire used with 20-amp circuits. That’s important andcues us into the fact that we need toconsider the voltage drop on the 120-volt side of the system – that is, lossesthat happen before the power everreaches the transformer.

In systems where you can locate thetransformers relatively close to the ser-vice panel (as is often the case with newconstruction), this sort of voltage dropisn’t likely to be much of an issue. Butwhere you’re adding lights to an existingproperty, the transformers might be setat some distance from the service pan-el, making it imperative for you to fac-tor in the voltage drop and design yoursystem accordingly.

Again, these electrical-system conceptsare roughly analogous to hydraulic sys-tems and the flow, pressure and resis-tance found in water lines: You can onlydivide the flow up based on what’s avail-able. Thus, a 12-guage wire connectedto a 20-amp, 120-volt circuit only a fewfeet or inches away from the source de-livers more capacity than does one wherethe electricity is flowing over a longerrun before it reaches the transformer.

Practical TermsWhen you break all of this down and

look at the lighting process as a me-thodical set of key steps, it all begins tomake sense. Just as with hydraulics, it’sa case of science and art going hand inhand: If you want to achieve the de-sired results, you need to know what’sinvolved in both. In my case – and ina basic approach I suspect is used bywatershapers as well – I start by de-signing projects in aesthetic terms, thendouble back and lay out the electricalsystem to accommodate the results I’mtrying to achieve.

Once the artistic game plan is in place,I flag the entire system, locating each fix-ture so I can see the length of the wireruns and determine the loads within thesystem. Then I break the system up intoclusters based on the layout.

To illustrate, let’s consider a large prop-erty that requires 120 fixtures and 10 mul-ti-tap transformers. That’s intimidating

on its face,but if you break it all down andlook at it as a series of vignettes, it’s rela-tively easy to balance the loads on eachhome run. In other words, a big systemis really just a combination of smaller,more manageable parts.

Before I get that far, however, I ascer-tain the balance on the 120-volt side (thatis, from the circuit breaker on the servicepanel to the transformer) and on thelow-voltage side (from the transformerto the hub and the fixtures on that line).The more transformers you add to a120-volt line or the more fixtures to asingle hub, the greater the voltage drop.Thus, what you’re really doing is con-sidering the voltage for each groupingof lights all the way from the service pan-el and through the transformer to thefixtures themselves.

This may all seem terribly complicat-ed,but experience helps – and there’s nosubstitute for starting off with the rightway of looking at these systems on a sci-entific basis. But where I get the im-pression that working with all but themost complicated hydraulic systems canbe a matter of some approximation onthe part of a watershaper, my work as adesigner of electrical systems calls for aprecision that can’t be left to habit, sup-position or chance.

This is why,when I hook up a system,I’ll bury all the connections to the fix-tures except for the fixture linked to thehome run: This is where I do finalchecks on voltage levels.

Generally, I start by connecting every-thing to the 12-volt outputs on the trans-formers, having color-coded every wireso I can keep track of which clusters I’mtesting. If I test the blue wire, for exam-ple,and it reads 10 volts at the home runfixture, I know that I need to move thatone from the 12-volt to the 14-volt tap tobump it up by two volts. If the yellow wiretests at 10.5 volts at the hub, I’ll move itfrom the 12-volt to the 13-volt terminalto move it into the desired range.

Careful ConsiderationsMake no mistake: This testing process

is absolutely critical. If I test a systemand can’t bring the voltages within thedesired range by adjusting the connec-tions at the transformer, then I need to

reconfigure layouts so that each homerun operates within the target range.

This is why the half-volt incrementson my custom transformers come inhandy: With this flexibility, I can almostalways hit my targets without having togo back to the drawing board.

While I suspect some of you out therewill want to take this information and ap-ply it yourselves, as I mentioned at theoutset,that’s not my goal here. Ultimately,what I’m hoping to foster is your in-creased awareness of the issues involved


in good lighting design and give you aworking vocabulary that will let you speakwith lighting contractors on an informedbasis and be better advocates for yourclients.

Indeed, creating perfectly balancedsystems takes experience and a polished,educated,experienced understanding ofhow all the electrical factors involvedin lighting-system design work togeth-er. As with many endeavors, there’s abroad range of quality with respect toavailable products and the expertise of

the designer or installer, so being in-formed is your best assurance of ob-taining good results.

As I think you can tell, my own ap-proach involves leaving little (if anything)to chance and doing all I can to apply myknowledge and experience to delivergreat results. Ultimately,you need someof this sort of understanding to serve thebest interests of your clients and makecertain they’re happy when the switch-es are thrown and the lights bring yournighttime settings to life.

There’s a simple reason why I want my light-ing systems to perform to the best of theirtechnological capability for as long an oper-ating life as possible: When things get thiscomplex, maintenance becomes a huge is-sue. No client will be satisfied if there’s a reg-ular need to have someone scamper over therocks to keep things looking their best.

57

It all started in 2002, when I was contacted by an architectwho’d been retained to design a recreational complex for a hugeestate in a wealthy Chicago suburb. I knew at the time that thiswould be big, but in those early days I had no clear idea exact-ly what it would ultimately entail.

It’s a familiar story: Before the call came in, the homeown-er had spoken with a number of pool-contracting firms inthe area and had visited a number of projects that failed to im-press her. The unusual thing is, at the time she called I wasfocused exclusively on pursuing large-scale commercial pro-jects and waterparks and didn’t see anything even approachinga good fit.

Nonetheless,she prevailed upon me to show her one of my wa-terpark projects and apparently was impressed enough by boththe scale and the quality that she decided we were a great fit.

In retrospect, her decision wasn’t too surprising given howgrand and complex everything about this project was from theget-go. Even the site visit was impressive,given the 140 acres offorested land, the multiple homes on site and a primary resi-dence set back several hundred feet from the road. The groundsincluded miles of horse trails, a massive lake/waterfall complexand, under construction, a tri-level pool house that was to in-clude, among other amenities, an elaborate theater complete

Even for a watershaper who previously specialized in the largest,most complex sorts of commercial installations, the challengesJames Atlas ran into with this multi-faceted residential projectstretched him to his operational limits. Designed for an intenselycreative client on a property in suburban Chicago, the work tookmore than five years to complete and grew to include a wildlyelaborate palette of design elements and details.

Shell

Games


By James Atlas

with an orchestra pit.The client was thoroughly engaged in every detail and was

a constant source of feedback and ideas. Well-traveled, bright,educated and more than capable of holding her own in design-related conversations, she’s passionate about art and cultureand provided us with a rich source of inspiration in direct sug-gestions and in the objects she’d collected through the years.

Coming to Terms

As one example of just how creatively ambitious she could be,one of the bathrooms in the pool house is painted from floor toceiling with a mural of a fox hunt: Every person in the paintingis a family member,with the visual space separated between theliving and the departed. This level of expression reaches through-out the project,as evidenced by another spectacular detail in theform of a ceiling painting above the indoor pool that featuresaccurate renderings of constellations lit with fiberoptic stars.

But the pool house also was to have a utilitarian side, includinga full kitchen, laundry facilities,vast amounts of custom wood-work, 18th-century stained-glass windows imported fromEngland and an elevator. Suffice it to say, this was a client whoobserved no limits when it came to doing as she pleased.

At first, our scope of work was limited to an indoor swim-ming pool to be installed inside the pool house as well as afreeform outdoor pool. But that was just the beginning, andbefore long the project grew to include multiple watershapesand a long list of design details. Even for a firm that specializedin outsized projects, this soon became one of the most chal-lenging we’d ever tackled: Truly, it pressed us to our creativeand technical limits.

In addition to the two pools, we eventually were engaged todesign and install an indoor spa, wading pool and fountain aswell as an exterior wading pool and spa, an outdoor hot/coldtherapy pool, a waterfall, a swim-in sauna and a sliding acrylicdoor that was to separate the indoor and outdoor pools – thislast being by far the toughest single element of the project. Theoutdoor pool was to have a vanishing edge,extensive rockworkand various sculptural, lighting and fire features. The vanish-ing-edge basin alone became so large that it is essentially a wa-tershape unto itself.

And those were just the key physical features: In addition tothose large tasks, we also tackled a seemingly endless string ofsmall details, from extraordinarily elaborate tile mosaics in-cluding a coral reef and “cave paintings”in the sauna to a mas-sive, all-tile clamshell that cantilevers over one end of the in-door swimming pool.

All of this had to be engineered and built by a company fa-miliar with complex structural issues, construction techniques


The process of building the indoor pool was complicated by the fact that,in addition to the shell for the pool itself, we were also setting up the ad-jacent spa and wading pool as well as the swim channel and the sup-port for a clamshell detail of an as-yet-undetermined nature. It was,simply put, a complex forming process and shoot.

and hydraulic efficiencies. And every-thing was made even more challengingby the fact that success was a moving tar-get: The project went through numer-ous design iterations through the years,and those of us who stuck with the pro-ject for the duration (basically us and thegeneral contractor) had to deal with asteadily changing cast of contractors andsubcontractors.

Celestial Eclipse

The first element we worked on wasthe indoor pool,an elliptical watershapethat was a fixed part of the design fromthe very start. Measuring in at 18 by 40feet, it’s large by residential-indoor-pool

standards and was meant to be bigenough for lap swimming. On eitherside of the indoor pool nearest the out-door pool are a spa and a wading pool,both with radii that follow the contoursof the pool and appear somewhat likethe fins on a rocket ship.

The indoor pool itself is fairly stan-dard: We built the shell during con-struction of the pool house, then steppedaway once the shell had been shot to al-low for completion of the structurearound it.

When we moved back into the spacesome months later, we started on atremendously ambitious pool interiorthat includes a mosaic by Craig Bragdy

Design (Denbigh, Wales): Spun off asimilar design they’d done that gives theimpression of having a chiffon scarfdraped over the steps and part of thepool bottom, it’s a beautiful image thatsuited the space perfectly.

But we’d built the shell early in theprocess and hadn’t known at the timeabout the tile treatment, so the stepsweren’t shot and trimmed with any-where near the precision required to ac-commodate the mosaic. As a result, wespent many days brown-coating thesteps,building them out to match a new-ly defined set of dimensions.Fortunately,we were privileged to work with top-notch craftspeople: When the time came

to install the tile, it all fit like a glove.The handrails were another challenge:

The client had seen some beautifully cur-vaceous rails in a hotel in San Francisco,took a picture and let us know what shewanted. Naturally, these were not basic,stock items, so we had to find a fabri-cator who could make them from stain-less steel to precise tolerances. The onlyvendor we found that was willing to tack-le the job was Spectrum Products ofMissoula, Mont.

As elaborate as were other details, thewaterline was a basic six-by-six-inch ce-ramic tile in Gothic Blue from Noble Tileof Tempe, Ariz. The owner chose thecolor to match a tile-topped table from

India that she had us install as a medal-lion in the floor at the entrance to thepool house: Its beautiful lapis color wassomething she wanted to match with thewaterline treatment. We then complet-ed the picture by harmonizing the tileselection and the blue of the scarf mo-saic with a complementary DiamondBrite pool plaster from Southern Grouts& Mortars (Pompano Beach, Fla.).

Before we could tackle this finish work,of course,we had to step aside and let thegeneral contractor and the painter com-plete their overhead work. When all wasfinished with both these phases of theproject and all the fiberoptics were inplace, the “stars”reflected on the surface

of the pool took on a magical appearance– a subtle, truly spectacular effect.

Cracking the Shell

The indoor space is marked by scores ofother significant details, but in terms ofcomplexity,none holds a candle to the gi-ant clamshell that hangs over one end ofthe pool. It had been envisioned as part ofthe design from the beginning,but no oneon the project team could get a handle onexactly what the client wanted. It was oneof those rare times when her words anddescriptions weren’t quite enough, so itwas something we basically tabled untilthe schedule really left us no choice.

The architect had worked with a couple


Once we were done with the shell of the indoor pool and its associated waterfeatures, we stepped aside so the pool house could be built over andaround what we’d done.

of firms that specialized in various decorative displays,but the bestanyone had come up with to date was an awkward-looking struc-ture with large footings and intrusive supports – something theyall seemed to think was needed as a safety measure with whatwas to be,after all,a big overhead structure.

During a meeting with Craig Bragdy Design’s Nick Powell inwhich we were discussing various tile details, someone broughtup the shell. Powell, almost as an aside, said he’d built some-thing similar in the past; before long,he was quizzing the clientto get a fuller impression of her idea.

She left for a few moments. Returning with a large, shell-shaped pewter ashtray, she said that this was what she was af-ter – only several times larger and suspended over the pool.Undaunted by the manifest difference in scale, Powell volun-teered his company to bring her idea to fruition. A few sketch-es later, the client authorized him to proceed.

To keep the weight to a minimum, Powell’s company con-tracted with a Welsh shipbuilder to construct a substructureout of the same material used to make the hulls of ships. Theydelivered the armature to Craig Bragdy Design, where artistsapplied the tile and then shipped the completed 13-foot-di-ameter masterpiece to the job site,where it now rises to a pointabout eight feet above the end of the pool wall.

The artists in Wales made the shell look as realistic as possi-ble, with a beautiful mother-of-pearl treatment on the under-side and a knobby, rough finish on the top – truly spectacular.

The shell’s footings are integrated into the pool shell at thepoint where the spa and the wading pool meet. We triple-re-inforced the connection with rebar and thickened the beamat that point to a three-foot width. This left us with the chal-lenge of finding a way to conceal the various structural elements.Once again, Powell came through by wrapping the base of theshell in a shroud of coral mosaic.

The shell arrived on site in three pieces, and there was greatanticipation as they were craned into place – and great reliefwhen everything slid together. The shell was an immediate hit– especially when we turned on low-voltage uplights that illu-minated the underside of the shell with a wondrous, shim-mering, iridescent glow.

Official Passage

Also beneath the shell is a swim-out channel that runs fromthe indoor pool and through the deck and wall of the poolhouse to reach the outdoor pool. Although this detail was easyenough to execute, the spot where the channel passes throughthe wall involved creation of a movable acrylic panel that turnedout to be the single greatest challenge of the entire project.

The mechanism had to be custom designed,engineered andbuilt from scratch and caused sleepless nights for more than a


Our finish work indoors included installation of the amazing clamshellstructure over the swim channel at the end of the pool. Before long, theelaborate tilework drapery was flowing down over the steps, and thehard work began of cutting the coping material to fit a range of radii andcomplex angles.

In context, this sliding-panel detail betweenthe indoor and outdoorpools fades in compar-ison to the stunning vi-suals found elsewherein this project, but noother element of thishuge project involvedmore blood, sweat andtears than this one, nomatter how modest itmight seem in context.


few of us who became involved with it.First, it had to move up and down,re-

tract fully into the wall above and runwith mechanisms that had to be com-pletely hidden from view. Second, it hadto be sturdy enough to withstand the dif-ferential loads from water and bathersurge pressing against it on both sides.Third,and most challenging of all, it hadto be safe: With such a heavy piece ofmaterial moving up and down, we hadto devise ways to keep it from trappinganyone beneath it.

On top of all that, it couldn’t be a sim-ple up/down,on/off mechanism: Instead,it needed to rise and drop into four posi-tions: all the way down to the floor of thechannel; just below the water’s surface sothe channel could still be navigated whilethe acrylic still kept the weather and in-sects out; to a level just above water level;and, finally, all the way up into the wall.

To make it work, we borrowed sometechnology from automatic pool covers:If it’s being lowered and meets any re-sistance, sensors in the system make thepanel rise back up; in addition,constantpressure must be applied to the switchto lower the sheet all the way to the bot-tom. Finally, it’s equipped with triple-redundant internal safety features so itcannot slip out of its track or experiencean uncontrolled drop.

Before we reached these solutions,weran through a host of design iterationsand worked with a wide array of engi-neers and firms – one of which went sofar as to build a mock up for us, then toldus that they couldn’t make it work andactually gave us our money back!

Finally,we linked up with a local iron-works company in Chicago that put usin contact with Bill Petite, a gifted me-chanical engineer who came up with adesign that met all criteria and could ac-tually be built. Even then,we had to signseveral “hold-harmless”agreements be-fore they would release the system to us.

The irony is that this is perhaps the leastvisually obtrusive element of the entireproject. As a member of the Aquatechgroup of builders,I’ve run into and heardabout lots of extremely complicated pro-ject features,but neither I nor any of mycolleagues had ever run into anythingquite so far off the beaten path as this one.


The swim channel isn’t the only way to move from outdoors to indoors: Off to one side of theoutdoor pool is a sweeping passage that leads to the sauna a few paces away from the indoor pool.This accessway was lined with tilework cave paintings – more handiwork of the artists at CraigBragdy Design (Denbigh, Wales).

A measure of this complexity is that we spent more than threeyears from concept to final installation!

Cave Dwelling

Before we step outside to consider the outdoor pool, therewas one more set of details we had to attend to within the con-fines of the pool house: Adjacent to the pool is a set of doorsthat leads into a foyer that in turn gives access to a large saunafacility.

From floor to ceiling, the transition is finished in tile fromCraig Bragdy Design that puts you in the interior of a prehis-toric cave dwelling.

As you enter the space, you have the option of going straightto the sauna, or you can make a right turn to an area with stepsleading down to a swim-through connected to the outside pool.(Happily for us, the client didn’t want another automatic doorhere: You either wade or swim through an archway that keepsthe bugs out with a rain-curtain system.)

Inside the pool house and opposite the archway is a large rockwaterfall, so when you enter the space from outside, you’re ful-ly surrounded by water as you move toward the sauna and passby the amazing tiled walls.

Our work in this area was limited to the rain curtain, the wa-


Work on the outdoor pool began while the pool house was still takingshape. Key to success in all subsequent stages was making certain weset things up for plumbing, electrical and assorted other runs – withplenty of extra capacity to accommodate the changes that were cer-tain to come as we moved forward.

terfall and some tile work associated with the swim-out: Thegeneral contractor took care of the internal finishes and installedthe sauna,with a strong assist once again from Nick Powell whenit came to decorative design.

As Powell tells it,he was in a meeting with the owner and theartist who’d done the ceiling painting over the indoor pool whenshe told the artist she wanted this part of the project to resem-ble a cave. He worked up some sketches, but apparently theydidn’t do the trick. She left the room and came back with a silkscarf she’d purchased in Paris that had a design based on au-thentic cave paintings. She laid it out on the table and said thatwas exactly what she wanted.

Powell took photos of the scarf, returned to Wales and de-veloped a series of sketches based on the configuration of thespace. She was finally happy with it, and the artists at CraigBragdy Design began preparing the third of the four major mo-saics they’d ultimately execute for the project. They also fash-ioned interesting stalactite details and inserted some small win-dows near the ceiling to bring natural light into the space.

Moving Out

The fourth of the tile mosaics is in the form of a coral reef onthe bottom of the outdoor pool – a 65-foot-long, freeform ves-sel with a vanishing edge,an encircling natural-rock formation,fire features, a waterfall and a sculpture pedestal.

The impetus behind this particular detail stemmed fromthe client’s desire to swim laps starting at the far end of theindoor pool, passing through the swim channel and thenmoving across the outdoor pool – in all, a circuit of morethan 100 feet. But the journey involved making a right turncoming out of the swim channel, so she wanted some sort ofvisual marker to keep her on track.

The reef mosaic was the elongated solution: It suited hertastes much better than a simple tile lane marker and turnedwhat was otherwise a functional detail into another display ofthe talents of the artists at Craig Bragdy Design. They’d donesomething similar in the past,but even with that precedent, thedesign went through numerous iterations and adjustments ofthe color scheme before winning the client’s approval.

Given the client’s indoor/outdoor swimming regimen, bothpools had to be heated year ’round. The client had the where-withal not to care about energy consumption,but she’s also en-vironmentally conscious and wanted an energy-conserving so-lution that would reduce fuel consumption while still enablingher to keep both pools at the same temperature.

To make it work, we installed a geothermal system that pre-heats the water by moving it down a shaft that reaches to the wa-ter table beneath the property. There, a heat-exchange processbrings the sometimes very chilly pool water up to a reliable 60 to70 degrees Fahrenheit. When it returns to the surface, this water


The outdoor watershapes involved us in unimaginably complex exca-vation and forming processes, with intricate contours, interesting an-gles and a scale so grand that it all defies characterization as a ‘resi-dential’ installation.

flows to a pair of high-efficiency gas heaters that bring the waterthe rest of the way up to the desired swimming temperature.

The needs of this system and of all of the other features wewere installing led us to a practical choice to make certain wehad ample piping service to various outdoor locations.

All of the equipment for the indoor and outdoor systems ishoused in the basement of the pool house, which is where wefocused our first efforts without having a clear idea of whatwould be happening outside. All we could do was come upwith a best guess about what we’d need – then added severalextra runs of conduit and pipe in a 24-inch-wide chase we randown the side of the supposed length of the outdoor pool.

This was another case where my experience in handlingthe changing demands of large-scale commercial facilities be-came a real advantage.

Flood of Details

Indeed, it wasn’t long before we were very happy we’d pro-vided room for expansion: After we’d set up and buried theoutdoor chase under tons of gravel and concrete, the projectevolved to include 16 substantial change orders that called onus to use just about every available line we’d set up. What hadbeen just a swimming pool now became a complex includingan outdoor hot/cold therapy spa, a play pool, a waterfall andelaborate fire and lighting effects.

The therapy spa is accessed by a set of steps adjacent to thechannel leading into the sauna, the thought being to createan indoor/outdoor therapy zone. The spa’s elliptical shapeechoes the design of the indoor pool, and it features multiple


Shooting the outdoor pool was a major exercise in logistics, with mul-tiple crews working in various areas around the site until they all cametogether to take care of the main pool’s huge floor. Once the shell wasready, another stunning tile composition was set in place to mark a swimlane running the full length of the 60-foot pool.


With the shells and other basic structures complete, crews came on site to install what seemed like acres of stonework on the pool house anddecks – rough boulders, smaller river rocks, flagstone decking and more.

jets as well as tile inlays from Craig Bragdy Design and a pedestalfor a piece of sculpture (yet to be selected).

A similar pedestal supporting a mermaid sculpture wasadded as one of the many changes to the main pool itself:The owner wanted lighting for the pedestal and also wantedwater to emerge from the statue’s base – not a problem giv-en all the extra capacity we’d built into the plumbing andelectrical systems. Also competing for space in the chase werethe numerous fire and lighting effects added as the projectmoved forward.

The main pool features a 20-foot-long vanishing edge into aforest view. The edge is flanked by a sculpture and spills intoa catch basin that’s 25 feet long and six feet wide.

The basin was much larger and deeper than it needed to bebecause the homeowner wanted the downslope side of the van-ishing edge to serve as a waterfall that could be enjoyed on thelevel just below the pool. To that end,the system is set up to senda healthy 400 gallons per minute over the edge, creating a sheetof water that cascades into the catch basin. The outsized basinis large enough to handle that robust flow; at the same time, itserves an aesthetic purpose as an architectural pond.

The catch basin itself is finished with a Bluestone facing andcoping that matches the edge’s finish. All of this serves as a vi-sual extension of the Bluestone flag decking that surrounds partof the pool and the granite field boulders that make up the restof the coping system as well as the rock waterfall. (The owneralso wanted smooth river rocks mixed in with the boulders toaccentuate the look she was after.)

We completed the package outdoors with an extensive low-voltage lighting system and six fire features interspersed amongthe boulders at the edge of the pool.

Final Touches

In reading through this article, you may get the impressionthat the project flowed smoothly from one phase into another,with all changes and variations handled in stride. Yes, there wasa certain momentum that kept things going,but it’s importantto recognize that just about every detail of this project was thesubject of extensive discussion, revision and review.

It was an arduous process, and it took us every one of the1,800-odd days we spent on the job to get things done in waysthat satisfied the client. Let me illustrate that point with onemore vignette, this one having to do with choosing the interi-or finish to go with the reef mosaic for the outdoor pool.

Where choosing the finish for the indoor pool had beenstraightforward, doing the same outdoors was an ordeal: Theclient wanted a pond-like look for the water and was extremelyconcerned about how everything would look. To meet the need,we recommended a custom blend from Southern Grouts &


The sheer volume of plumbing, electrical and other service lines we di-rected to the large equipment room required the utmost in organization.The success of that effort shows in the orderly precision with which every-thing came together inside the vault.

Mortars that leaned toward a dark blue-gray.

The client was open to the idea but stillneeded to be sure. In other words, wehad to show her how everything wouldlook underwater.

We took a sample of the finish to a lo-cal paint store and had them match it inpaint. We then took a big barrel, paint-ed the insides and set up some tile on thebottom to give her a clear sense of howthe colors would work together. She wassatisfied with what she saw, so we went

ahead – and I’m relieved to say she wasthrilled with the result.

But this and other scenarios describedabove are just a few of many suchepisodes, each of which required us topull up, figure out approaches, proposesolutions and move forward knowing wemight have to go back to the drawingboard if things weren’t just right.

It was incredibly frustrating at somepoints,distinctly traumatic at others – butalways exciting and unique in our com-pany’s experience. Even at this writing,

we’re still visiting the site on a regular ba-sis to iron out wrinkles, deal with minorrequests that have come up and contin-ue to apply various finishing touches.

Although I’d like to think we’re finished,it’s fair to say that this project will likelybe a perpetual work in progress on somelevel. As we have been for the past fiveyears,we’ll be there to make things work.

In an upcoming issue, we’ll take you ona tour of the finished project and sharesome of its distinctive details.


Five years in the making and likely never to be ‘done’ in the usual sense, this project engaged us on every conceivable creative, practical and lo-gistical level. Snow blankets and conceals the work here, but all will be revealed in a future issue of WaterShapes.

P


ProductInformation Card

Advertiser Index:

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44 A & B Aluminum and Brass Foundry (pg. 34)(800) 733-4995 www.abfoundryonline.com

2 Air-O-Lator (pg. 77)(800) 821-3177 www.airolator.com

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3 Aquamatic Cover Systems (pg. 3)(800) 262-4044 www.aquamatic.com

77 Aquavations (pg. 19)(800) 429-4701 www.aquavations.com

40 Atlantic Water Gardens (pg. 34)(877) 807-6637 www.atlanticwatergardens.com

88 Bison Deck Supports (pg. 24)(800) 333-4234 www.bisondecksupports.com

60 Cactus Stone & Tile (pg. 7)(800) 528-9445 www.cactustile.com

27 Color Match Pool Fittings (pg. 28)(623) 337-4120 www.poolfittings.com

8 Cover-Pools (pg. 13)(800) 447-2838 www.coverpools.com

12 Craig Bragdy Design (pg. 29)011 44 1745 815656 (United Kingdom) www.cbdpools.co.uk

51 D’Asign Source (pg. 21)(305) 743-7130 www.dasignsource.com

106 David A. Spencer Natural Stone Water Sculptures (pg. 8)(585) 267-7237 www.nswsculptures.com

46 Emperor Aquatics (pg. 30)(610) 970-0440 www.emperoraquatics.com

123 Fiberstars (pg. 11)(888) 704-2276 www.fiberstars.com

130 Focus Industries (pg. 23)(888) 882-1350 www.focusindustries.com

64 Fountains Unique (pg. 22)(949) 305-7372 www.fountainsunique.com

16 Genesis 3 Schools (pg. 51)(877) 513-5800 www.genesis3.com

125 Genesis 3 Schools (pg. 53)(877) 513-5800 www.genesis3.comGilderfluke & Co. (pg. 76)(800) 776-5972 www.gilderfluke.com

67 Grand Effects (pg. 9)(949) 697-5270 www.grandeffectsinc.com

74 Great American Waterfall Co. (pg. 76)(888) 683-0042 www.gawcinc.com

96 Jandy (pg. 80)(707) 776-8200 www.jandy.com

50 Kenneth Lynch & Sons (pg. 27)(203) 264-2831 www.klynchandsons.com

105 Landscape Industry Show (pg. 43)(800) 448-2522 www.clca.us/lis

90 Lehigh White Cement (pg. 61)(800) 523-5488 www.lehighwhitecement.com

58 Lightstreams Glass Tile (pg. 79)(650) 966-8375 www.lightstreamsglasstile.com

63 Macalite Equipment (pg. 59)(877) 622-2548 www.macaliteequipment.com

109 National Plasterers Council (pg. 25)(941) 766-0634 www.npconline.org

49 Pentair Water Pool & Spa (pg. 2)(800) 374-4300 www.pentairpool.com

66 Praher Valves (pg. 31)(800) 461-4915 www.prahervalves.com

78 Quaker Plastic Corp. (pg. 20)(717) 285-4571 www.quakerplastic.com

76 RenoSys (pg. 75)(800) 783-7005 www.renosys.com

70 RicoRock (pg. 16)(888) 717-3100 www.ricorock.com

56 Roman Fountains (pg. 12)(800) 794-1801 www.romanfountains.com

53 SGM (pg. 24)(800) 641-9247 www.sgm.cc

24 S.R. Smith (pg. 15)(800) 824-4387 www.srsmith.com

121 Siena Marble & Mosaic (pg. 14)(239) 435-7875 www.sienamarble.com

48 Southwest Pool & Spa Show (pg. 45)(800) 773-7440 www.swpoolandspashow.com

35 Spray Force Mfg. (pg. 71)(800) 824-8490 www.sprayforce.com

42 Standard Bronze (pg. 75)(201) 339-1351 www.standardbronzeco.com

52 Stegmeier (pg. 17)(800) 382-5430 www.stegmeier.com

131 TXI Riverside Cement (pg. 35)(909) 635-1800 www.txi.com

1 Vastec U.S.A. (pg. 76)(888) 282-7832 www.vastec-usa.comWall Whale-GABco Products (pg. 76)(866) 888-8778 www.wallwhale.com

135 Euclid Chemical Co. (pg. 74)136 Waterco USA (pg. 74)137 SoundScapes International (pg. 74)138 Caterpillar (pg. 74)139 Pentair Water Pool & Spa (pg. 74)140 Incord (pg. 74) 141 Hanna Instruments (pg. 74)142 Whitacre Greer (pg. 74)143 Aquascape (pg. 75)144 Deck-O-Seal (pg. 75)145 Outwater Plastics Industries (pg. 75)146 Ametek (pg. 75)147 Eon (pg. 76)148 Ditch Witch (pg. 76)149 Boral Bricks (pg. 76)150 Evolution Fence Co. (pg. 76)151 Miles Metzger Studios (pg. 77)152 National Swimming Pool Foundation (pg. 77)153 Urdl’s Waterfall Creations (pg. 77)154 Wolf Steel Ltd. (pg. 77)155 Quaker Plastic (pg. 77)156 U.S.Architectural Lighting (pg. 77)

Of Interest Index:

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� February 1999 (Vol. 1, No. 1)Tisherman on working in difficult soils; White on edgetreatments; Lacher on expansive soils.� June 1999 (Vol. 1, No. 3)Phillips on water and decks; Parmelee & Schick onsoils and geology; Anderson on water sounds. � August 1999 (Vol. 1, No. 4)Anderson on stream design; Adams on communitywaterparks; Gutai on spa hydraulics.� October 1999 (Vol. 1, No. 5)Holden on aquatic-design history; Mitovich on dry-deck fountains; Tisherman on site geometry.� December 1999 (Vol. 1, No, 6)Finley on Japanese gardens; a roundtable on poolsand landscape design; West on color rendering. � February 2000 (Vol. 2, No. 2)Hersman on lighting design; Macaire on faux-rock in-stallations; Andrews on glass mosaics. � March 2000 (Vol. 2, No. 3)L’Heureux on project management; Long on steelcages; Forni on installing and maintaining lakes.� April/May 2000 (Vol. 2, No. 4)Schwartz on garden access; Anderson on stream-beds; Nantz on watershapes and architecture.� September 2000 (Vol. 2, No. 7)Davitt on designing for small spaces; Altvater on theimportance of aeration; Hetzner on sheet falls.� November/December 2000 (Vol. 2, No. 9)Arahuete on John Lautner; L’Heureux on stretch-ing laminar flows; Benedetti on satellite surveying.� January/February 2001 (Vol. 3, No. 1)Holden on a retro-look design (I); Fleming on upscaleapproaches; Gutai on pump technology.� March 2001 (Vol. 3, No. 2)Moneta & Farley on site-specific design; Benedettion fiberoptics; Alperstein on golf-course water.� April 2001 (Vol. 3, No. 3)Jauregui on inspired clients; Dirsmith on frosty foun-tains; Tisherman on deluxe finishing.� May 2001 (Vol. 3, No. 4)Reed on sculpture gardens; L’Heureux on sequencedwater; Brandes on restoring riverfronts.� June 2001 (Vol. 3, No. 5)Winget on fun-inspired waterforms; Holden on sur-vey formats; Schwartz on classic stonework (I).� July/August 2001 (Vol. 3, No. 6)Rugg on pond basics (I); Ruthenberg on perimeteroverflow; Schwartz on classic stonework (II).� September 2001 (Vol. 3, No. 7)Rugg on pond basics (II); Urban on energy savings;Pasotti on interactive waterplay.

� October 2001 (Vol. 3, No. 8)Tisherman on hilltop views; Hagen on natural streamwork; Schwartz on classic stonework (III).� November/December 2001 (Vol. 3, No. 9)Straub on Kansas City’s fountains; McCloskey onthe Getty Center; Tisherman on Fallingwater.� January 2002 (Vol. 4, No. 1)Phillips on Hearst Castle’s watershapes; Bower onthe Raleigh Hotel pool; Roth on Katsura Rikyu.� February 2002 (Vol. 4, No. 2)Marosz on project integration; Moneta on spa-edgedetails; Affleck on scupture and water.� May 2002 (Vol. 4, No. 5)Anderson on pond essentials; Pasotti on interac-tive waterplay; Gibbons on ‘stellar’ fiberoptics.� June 2002 (Vol. 4, No. 6)Altorio on civic fountains; Gutai on skimmers;Beard on working with landscape architects.� September 2002 (Vol. 4, No. 8)Rosenberg & Herman on site-sensitive design;Dirsmith on long-term design; Gutai on filters.� October 2002 (Vol. 4, No. 9)Copley & Wolff on modernizing fountains; Bethuneon imitating nature; Tisherman on edgy colors.� November/December 2002 (Vol. 4, No. 10)Holden on Villa d’Este; Hobbs on Maya Lin’s water-shapes; Phillips on water in transit.� January 2003 (Vol. 5, No. 1)Fleming on high-end ambitions; Harris on decorativeinterior finishes; Gutai on surge tanks.� February 2003 (Vol. 5, No. 2)The Beards on collaboration; Yavis on custom vinyl-liner pools; Mitovich on Microsoft’s campus.� May 2003 (Vol. 5, No. 5)Zaretsky on sensory gardens; Freeman on hydraulicretrofitting; Hanson on water/stone sculpture.� June 2003 (Vol. 5, No. 6)Gunn on fountain whimsy; Tisherman on watershap-ing for an art collector; Holden on tile. � July 2003 (Vol. 5, No. 7)Fintel on attracting birds; Lacher on structural engi-neering; Alperstein on golf course design.� August 2003 (Vol. 5, No. 8)Miller on site-specific fountains; Gutai on plumbingjoints; Holden on period-sensitive restoration.� September 2003 (Vol. 5, No. 9)Hebdon on borrowing naturalism; Ruddy on indoor de-signs; So on modernist sculpture.� October 2003 (Vol. 5, No. 10)Mitovich on dry-deck fountains; Roth on liner issues;Marckx & Fleming on installing glass tile.

� November 2003 (Vol. 5, No. 11)Holden on carved stone; Shaw on roles of consultants;Forni on period-sensitive renovation.� December 2003 (Vol. 5, No. 12)Five-year article and topic indexes; five-year indexfor all columns, 1999-2003.� January 2004 (Vol. 6, No. 1)Ruddy on enclosures; Lacher on steel and concrete;Forni on water quality for natural watershapes.� February 2004 (Vol. 6, No. 2)Varick on nature and architecture; Benedetti on pro-tecting stone; Kaiser on grand-scale watershapes.� March 2004 (Vol. 6, No. 3)Morris on kinetic sculpture; Cattano on collaboration;Hebdon on water and settings for healing.� May 2004 (Vol. 6, No. 5)Rowley on main-drain safety; Ewen on purposefulrestoration; Dallons on high-wire watershaping.� June 2004 (Vol. 6, No. 6)Dallons on a hilltop treasure; Mitovich on the D-DayMemorial; Slawson on Japanese inspiration.� July 2004 (Vol. 6, No. 7)Benedettion fortifying concrete; Shawon fountain ‘stan-dards’; Holden on Italy’s watershapes.� August 2004 (Vol. 6, No. 8)Bravo on Olympic-scale restoration; Martin & Testeron water and music; Jauregui on clients and styles.� September 2004 (Vol. 6, No. 9)Abaldo on a grand-scale vision; Gutai on valves;Lennox Moyer on principles of lighting water.� October 2004 (Vol. 6, No. 10)diGiacomo & Holden on watershaping’s role; Allen onintegrated spaces; Grusheski on a river’s history. � November 2004 (Vol. 6, No. 11)Abaldo on grand-scale detailing; Freeman on water-chemistry ABCs; Hughes on naturalistic design.� December 2004 (Vol. 6, No. 12)Revisiting 25 projects that define The PlatinumStandard in watershaping.

Listings represent partial contents only.All 2005, 2006 and 2007 issues are available!� January 05� February 05� March 05� April 05� May 05� June 05� July 05� August 05� September 05� October 05� November 05� December 05

� January 06� February 06� March 06� April 06� May 06� June 06� July 06� August 06� September 06� October 06� November 06� December 06

� January 07� February 07� March 07� April 07� May 07� June 07� July 07� August 07� September 07� October 07� November 07� December 07


OF INTERESTOF INTEREST The following information has been provided to WaterShapes by product suppliers. To find outhow to contact these companies, look for the Product Information Card located on page 72.

EUCLID CHEMICAL CO. offers Ultra-Tex, a thin, ce-mentitious, decorative overlay for concrete surfacesthat uses pigments and a template system to createthe look of real stone, slate or tile. Designed for in-door or outdoor use on both horizontal and verticalsurfaces, it is available in a virtually unlimited rangeof colors and provides a surface that is slip-, salt- andUV-resistant. Euclid Chemical Co., Cleveland, OH.

Circle 135 on Reader Service Card

CCOONNCCRREETTEE SSUURRFFAACCEE FFIINNIISSHH

WATERCO USA has introduced the Multi Cyclone, apre-filtration device that has no moving parts to wearout and no filter media to clean or replace. Using theprinciple of centrifugal water filtration, the device guidesincoming water to a diverter plate so it enters multiplecyclones tangentially. This spins sediment to the walland then spirals it down to a sediment sump for easypurging. Waterco USA, Augusta, GA.

CCEENNTTRRIIFFUUGGAALL PPRREE--FFIILLTTEERR


SOUNDSCAPES INTERNATIONAL offers a line of out-door acoustic sculptures called Wind Harps. Whenbreezes blow, they generate harmonic tones that en-courage relaxation, contemplation and sublimely re-generative experiences. Ideal for placement in pondsand other calm, quiet watershapes, the Klarion mod-el stands 53 inches tall and has a durable powder-coated finish. SoundScapes International, PagosaSprings, CO.

TTUUNNEEFFUULL SSCCUULLPPTTUURREESS


WHITACRE GREER offers clay paversin a variety of colors, finishes and sizes.Produced using a vacuum dry-pressmethod, the durable products come in13 colors from ivory to tangerine andchocolate; with beveled, rolled, straightor cobbled edges, with or without lugs; and in eight sizes from 3-by-9to 8-by-8 inches, with all sizes coming in two thicknesses and the 4-by-8s in three. Whitacre Greer, Alliance, OH.

PENTAIR WATER POOL & SPA has introducedthe SunTouch and SunTouch Solar controlsystems. Designed as entry-level devices,SunTouch allows the programming of a pool,a spa and two additional features – a cleanerand a light, for example – while SunTouchSolar is specially designed to monitor and ad-

just both the flow and temperature for solar-panel applications. PentairWater Pool & Spa, Sanford, NC.


CCOONNTTRROOLL SSYYSSTTEEMMSS

INCORD has published literature on its ropeand netting systems for waterparks and wa-terplay areas The eight-page, full-colorbrochure covers soft-play netting for climb-ing and tunnels; rope and barrier netting forfences; Netform, a steel-reinforced rope; NavyFlex, a long-life, low-abrasion polypropylenerope; and a UV/chemical-resistant polyester netting that’s ideal for high-ac-tivity waterplay areas. Incord, Colchester, CT.

RROOPPEE AANNDD NNEETTTTIINNGG



HANNA INSTRUMENTS offers the PCA Seriesof chlorine monitors and analyzers. Availablein three models (two with pH electrodes andone with an ORP electrode), the devices checkfor free and total chlorine levels and propor-tionally control the pH level. The wall-mount-

ed units feature large, backlit displays and user-friendly interfaces andstore up to 3,500 data points. Hanna Instruments, Woonsocket, RI.

CCHHLLOORRIINNEE AANNAALLYYZZEERRSS


CCLLAAYY PPAAVVEERRSS

CATERPILLAR has introduced the H-Series of small-wheel loaders. Designedfor responsive power and versatility, thethree low-emission, low-noise modelseach have more engine power than thecompany’s previous small-wheel-load-ers and feature cabs and operator stations designed for easy accessand efficient operation with nominal bucket capacities ranging from 2.2to 3.25 cubic yards. Caterpillar, Peoria, IL.


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AQUASCAPE has added the AquaBasin to its line ofbackyard products. Designed to support up to 2,000pounds to handle heavier items such as basalt or slatecolumns, large ceramic urns and concrete, carved stoneor metal sculptures, the device is made of black high-density polyethylene with double-wall construction inan octagonal shape. It installs easily and holds 75 gal-lons of water. Aquascape, St. Charles, IL.


WWAATTEERRFFEEAATTUURREE BBAASSEE

DECK-O-SEAL offers Signature SeriesRedwood, a line of drains, joints, drain re-placement tops and expansion-joint capsthat enhances projects with the look of wood.Featuring ultraviolet stability, exceptionaldurability in outdoor environments and superior chemical resistance, theproducts retain their color and mechanical properties with long exposureto sunlight, moisture and heat. Deck-O-Seal, Hampshire, IL.

DDEECCKK--DDRRAAIINN SSYYSSTTEEMM


OUTWATER PLASTICS INDUSTRIES offers GenuineStone tiles made up of natural material hand-sort-ed by color, size and thickness and then individual-ly affixed in mosaic or stacked patterns onto mesh-style backings. The process results in seamless,interlocking 12-by-12- and 4 by-12-inch tiles thatare easy to install using traditional masonry meth-ods, materials and tools. Outwater PlasticsIndustries, Bogata, NJ.

SSTTOONNEE TTIILLEESS


AMETEK offers Rotron Regenerative Blowersfor commercial spa applications. Available infive models (DR 404, 454, 505, 513 and 656)operating at between 105 and 278 scfm, theheavy-duty devices feature cast aluminumblower housings, covers and impellers, per-manently sealed ball bearings and cast ironflanges along with inlet and outlet muffling that allows for operationwithin OSHA standards. Ametek, Kent, OH.


CCOOMMMMEERRCCIIAALL SSPPAA BBLLOOWWEERRSS


www.standardbronzeco.com



OF INTERESTOF INTEREST

EON has introduced its AdirondackCollection of plastic outdoor furnishings.Suited to use in backyards, patios anddecks, the ten-piece, all-season collectionis designed for low maintenance, durabil-ity and long-term beauty with the feel of

natural wood. Available with white or cedar finishes, the line includesclassic Adirondack chairs, ottomans, side tables, storage boxes andscreens. Eon, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.


OOUUTTDDOOOORR FFUURRNNIISSHHIINNGGSS

DITCH WITCH has introduced the Zahn family of trench-ing devices. Available in three models with compatiblefront ends, the line includes the R150, designed for pow-er, productivity and speed; the R230, which comes intwo- and four-wheel versions and is designed for ex-tremely versatile performance; and the R300, also in twoversions, one of which accepts seven different front-endtools. Ditch Witch, Perry, OK.

TTRREENNCCHHEERR SSYYSSTTEEMMSS


BORAL BRICKS offers Thin Brick for indoorand outdoor applications. Designed with thelook and feel of an oversized, handmade brick(but in a 3/4-inch-thick, easy-to-install form),the material comes in through-body colorsranging from grey-taupe or traditional red to

rustic brown or caramel-grey. Great for outdoor fireplaces, the units in-stall like other veneers on almost any surface. Boral Bricks, Atlanta, GA.

BBRRIICCKK VVEENNEEEERR


EVOLUTION FENCE CO. has added a newpergola to its line of ornamental, powder-coated aluminum fencing products for res-idential and commercial applications. Theunits stand 7 feet, 6 inches tall and havestandard 3-by-7-foot tops (with customspans available). Designed to fit seamlessly into projects using thecompany’s fences, the system offers a truly custom look. EvolutionFence Co., Hauppauge, NY.


PPOOWWDDEERR--CCOOAATTEEDD PPEERRGGOOLLAA

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MILES METZGER STUDIOS has published a catalogon its line of bronze sculptures. The 16-page, full-col-or brochure covers pieces for installation in landscapesand fountains, including studies of marine mammals,creatures of the forests and meadows, human figuresand more. The limited-edition works are available in arange of scales, from small to larger than life. Miles

Metzger Studios, St. Helena, CA.


BBRROONNZZEE SSCCUULLPPTTUURREESS

NATIONAL SWIMMING POOL FOUNDATION has spon-sored publication of Swimmers: Courage and Triumph,an inspirational collection of 19 stories about swim-ming from the familiar (Mark Spitz and his sevenOlympic gold medals) to the relatively unknown, in-cluding those of disabled persons who know swim-ming’s the key to unlocking healthier and happier lives. NationalSwimming Pool Foundation, Colorado Springs, CO.

SSWWIIMMMMIINNGG BBOOOOKK


WOLF STEEL LTD. has introduced the NapoleonGSS42, a 42-inch-wide gas fireplace that comes com-plete with brushed stainless steel double doors, heat-radiating ceramic glass, traditional cast iron andironsand optional decorative brick panels. The unit gen-erates up to 65,000 Btus and requires no venting, soit can be installed almost anywhere outdoors withzero clearance. Wolf Steel Ltd., Barrie, Ontario, Canada.

OOUUTTDDOOOORR GGAASS FFIIRREEPPLLAACCEE


QUAKER PLASTIC has introduced Deck-Drain-A-Way System II. Designed to move 17 percentmore water than regular deck drains, the sys-tem is a full 3-1/2-inches high by 1-1/4-incheswide and comes in gray, white or tan. No deeptrenches are required, and the system adapts to all standard 1-1/2-inch plastic fittings. It also serves as an expansion and contraction jointand a screed guide. Quaker Plastic, Mountville, PA.

DDEECCKK--DDRRAAIINN SSYYSSTTEEMM


U.S. ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING has published theTrilux Lighting Design Book, a 100-page, full-colorbook/compact-disk package on the Trilux line ofmodular outdoor lighting fixtures. Featuring exten-sive photography and detailed product information,the literature highlights the interchangeability of fix-tures and a range of mounting options, finishes andcolor choices. U.S. Architectural Lighting, Palmdale, CA.

LLIIGGHHTTIINNGG DDEESSIIGGNN BBOOOOKK


URDL’S WATERFALL CREATIONS has addedledger rocks to its line of fiber-reinforced con-crete products. Designed to complement thecompany’s rock panels for waterfalls and land-scapes, the rocks are available in a standard

tan/brown or in custom colors and were molded using an Alabamastone. They have a flagstone texture but are larger and thicker than typ-ical flagstones. Urdl’s Waterfall Creations, Delray Beach, FL.

AARRTTIIFFIICCIIAALL LLEEDDGGEERR



lthough we might not commonly think of watershaping and exteriordesign in this way, a great many of the details we shape are designed to

fool the eye or somehow create illusions. Consider the pools that are made toappear so natural that they don’t seem to have been man-made – or vanishingedges that conjure the impression that there’s no visual boundary between thesurface of a swimming pool and a distant body of water.

Those are two familiar tricks of the trade, but if you stop and think aboutit, there are many less-obvious examples as well: water flowing under a bridgethat leads to nowhere; rocks half buried in the landscape to give the illusionthat they are part of a subterranean geological formation; small bits of indi-vidual tile that come together to form a mosaic image; or modular walls thatappear to float in space.

In my own work, to add another example, I’ve started to be deliberate aboutworking with phenomena such as forced perspective, making seeminglyrectangular pools narrower on one end to give the impression that they’relonger than they really are – and I’ve done the same thing with pathways.

In other words, we often find ourselves in the business of creating false im-pressions – which is why I recently gravitated toward a copy of Masters ofDeception: Escher, Dali & the Artists of Optical Illusion by Al Seckel (Sterling

Publishing, 2004). At first glance, this 300-pagebook might seem to have little to do with water-shaping or landscape design. After all, it exam-ines the work of two-dimensional artists who usevisual trickery to delight,confuse and even frus-trate viewers: These are artists who, unlike us,are not constrained by inconvenient realities suchas gravity,volume,mass or literal representation.

Yet the deeper I delved into this book, whichis all about things that are not what they seem,the more I accepted the fact that artists such asSalvador Dali, M.C. Escher, Jos De Mey, SandroDel-Prete,and Shigeo Fukuda (included amongthe 20 featured in the book) have something toteach us despite the fact I see no direct way totransfer their boldest ideas to our work.

For starters, studying the works of these artistsmakes sense because we have a need to be fa-miliar with significant artistic genres (includingthese optical illusionists) of which our clientsmay be fans. In this particular case, there’s fan-tastically broad popular appeal, with just abouteveryone seeming to get a kick out of things thatfool the eye.

Moreover, in terms of simple design inspira-tion, the bag of visual tricks represented in thebook goes a long way toward explaining howperspective, form,geometry and imagery can beused to create impressions and illusions. I don’tsee using these concepts in overt ways,but I havethe immediate sense that they are already in-forming the subconscious part of my creativeprocess and are helping me perceive my designsin new ways.

Also, there’s no escaping the fact that it’s greatfun to look at the works of these artists and learnabout how they arrived at their various ap-proaches. At the very least, it serves to remindus that although design can be a very seriousmatter, it also can and should be about fun andfascination as well.

By Mike Farley

book notes

Meeting the Eye

WS

A

Mike Farley is a landscape architect with more than20 years of experience and is currently a design-er/project manager for Claffey Pools in Southlake,Texas. A graduate of Genesis 3’s Level I Design School,he holds a degree in landscape architecture fromTexas Tech University and has worked as a water-shaper in both California and Texas.

design • engineering • construction sound number 2

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